Team Rocket Neo
by BenRG
Summary: Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if good became evil and a hero had to choose sides? How would Ash and Misty handle being part of Team Rocket?
1. Mirror, Mirror

Team Rocket Neo ****

Team Rocket Neo

A Pokémon Nightmare by [BenRG][1]

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Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all technologies of the Pokémon universe are the legal property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Productions. No violation of any legal property intended. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet.

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Author's Notes

Alright, this one is for you, Rocketboy. I've hit a bit of a writers block with 'Avenger' so I am going to write a little something different. One of the more interesting Alternate Universe ideas I have recently began to encounter involved either Ash or Misty joining Team Rocket and turning bad. You will probably see some stuff you recognise, as I have been inspired by many different works. 

In any case, I wanted to write a story where _both_ of them join Team Rocket and what happens. Brock fans, Gary fans and Sensational Sisters fans will hate me for the opening, but I had to come up with a half-way logical reason for them to do this.

This is set a year from Ash's victory in the Johto Division. Misty has just qualified as a League Trainer (as opposed to a Gym Leader), and now they are on the way to Viridian City for this year's Indigo Division championships.

One final note, I don't think this would ever _really_ happen. I also don't think the family relationships between Giovanni, Ash and Jessie are anything like this either. I apologise if I get a little OOC, but this is a world where good and evil has been juxtaposed.

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Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages: Ash is 14; Misty is 14; Jessie is 22; James is 21; Brock is 22; Tracey is 18; Gary is 16; Daisy is 20; Butch is 22; Cassidy is 26; Giovanni is 36; Delilah is 35; Professor Oak is 51

CONTENT WARNING: Ash whumping, Misty whumping, a very negative portrayal of Brock, Professor Oak and Delilah Ketchum plus a lot of POV musing.

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Book 1 – Mirror, Mirror

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Chapter 1 - Betrayal

Ash tensed as he looked at Gary and Daisy questioningly. He, Misty and Brock had been walking through the forest near Cerulean City when his oldest friend and Misty's oldest sister suddenly walked out of nowhere to face off against them. Something was wrong about this whole situation. Ash's danger sense was screaming in his head.

"What do you want?" he finally asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"You know, Ash," Gary said with a sick grin. "I never really thought you would do it! Winning the Orange League one year and the Johto League the next. Hell, you really are good… or lucky."

Ash shrugged. "A little of both, Gary," he said. "I hear you've been doing quite well back here in Indigo, too." He cocked his head. "But why are you all the way out here? I can't imagine you would go to the trouble to track us down just to tell me this. What _do _you want?"

"And what do you want, Sis?" Misty asked Daisy in a suspicious tone.

Daisy smirked and moved slightly closer to Gary. "Like, let's just say I've found my own Pallet Town Prince," she said in her airy voice. Misty caught Ash's eye and they exchanged surprised looks. _Daisy and Gary? _Well, perhaps miracles do happen.

"You see, Ash, I've got a good thing going in the League," Gary said. "Hell, I might even win the Division this year, but that won't happen if I let you in. You are just too good. Even Misty might be better than me from what I've seen."

"Tough," Brock snapped. "They are both qualified and that means that they are both in."

Gary laughed sourly. "That is the problem isn't it?" he agreed. "So I had this wonderful idea. What if neither of you was qualified? It would solve a lot of problems."

Ash looked at Misty in surprise. "What are you talking about, Gary?" Ash blurted in surprise.

"It's quiet simple, handsome," Daisy purred. "Who ever heard of a Pokémon Trainer without Pokémon? That's why you are going to hand them over. Now."

Ash was flabbergasted and then started to laugh. "Do you think we are just going to hand over our Pokémon to you? You're crazy!"

"No," Gary said in a dangerous tone. "I didn't expect you to just hand them over, but I owed you the chance for all the good times we've shared." 

There was a long, dangerous pause. "You can't mean that," Misty said.

"He can," Daisy confirmed. "And so do I, baby sister. You have got too big for your boots. I always knew you would come crawling back to the Gym, and after this you will have no other choice. Hand them over. _Now!_"

Above, in a tree, Pikachu began to crackle with electricity. "No," Ash said simply. 

Gary rolled his eyes. "Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way, Ash?" he asked. In a single smooth move, he threw a Pokéball forward. "Go Arcanine!"

"Gyarados, I choose you!" Daisy added. The giant fire-type dog and the even larger water-type serpent materialised with a white flash.

Ash's instincts, honed to a fine edge by years of conflict with Team Rocket, allowed him to react at once. "Pikachu, Lightning Bolt on that Gyarados!"

Misty released Staryu and had him fire a Water Cannon attack at Arcanine. Pikachu's attack connected, but Arcanine was able to dodge. Misty was fast enough to recover. "Shuriken attack, Staryu!"

Gyarados roared in pain as electricity boiled around him. "Ice Beam!" Daisy ordered. Pikachu jumped from the tree branch where he was standing just before the Ice Beam turned it into an ice sculpture. "Body Slam!" Daisy added.

"Agility!" Ash countered. His little yellow friend easily dodged Gyarados' clumsy attack. Even so, the huge water-type had an advantage and Ash knew that.

To the right, Arcanine tagged Staryu with a Flame-thrower attack. "Oh no, Staryu!" Misty shouted, filled with concern for her Pokémon. "Staryu, return! Clefairy, I choose you!"

Clefairy materialised and launched into an immediate Metronome attack, throwing Arcanine back. Simultaneously, Gyarados hit Pikachu with a sweep of his huge tail, throwing the electric mouse back into the bushes. Pikachu didn't return, he had probably fainted; so Ash called out his Pidgeotto. The bird did his best, slashing at Gyarados' side and back with razor wing strikes. 

Ash broke out into a sweat. It was just too close to call. He and Misty were the better Trainers, but Gary and Daisy had far more powerful Pokémon at their command. "Brock, we need you!" he shouted.

Brock smiled gently. He was standing there, watching the battle with a strange air of detached interest as if he were watching it on TV or something. "Yes, to tip the balance," Brock said thoughtfully. "Now… which one shall I choose? Ah yes! Go, Onyx!"

Ash grinned slightly. Onyx, Brock's hundred-foot long, ten ton rock snake, was easily his most powerful Pokémon. This would be short and ugly. "Onyx, tail swipe!" Brock ordered. Ash froze for a second when he realised that Brock was pointing at _him_. Ash and Misty were too stunned even to scream as Onyx's tail slapped them hard across the path. Ash hit a tree head-on and blacked out. Misty tumbled to a stop, feeling bruises, and probably fractures too, all over her ribcage. As she looked on in horror, Onyx grabbed Clefairy in his huge coils and crushed the little psi-type unconscious. "Brock!" she shouted. "What are you doing?"

As she looked on, Gyarados and Arcanine knocked Pidgeotto out of the air. One body slam from the water serpent and it was all over. Misty tried to get up, but she was in too much pain. "Brock," she whispered, crying. "Why?"

"You have to ask that?" Brock snapped. "You two have been dragging me around, laughing at me and generally ruining my life for four years now. Well I've had it with 'Team Twerp,' Misty. Gary and Daisy have made me a better offer. Between them, I'll get to be a top Breeder at last and I _won't_ have to put up with your arguments and your sniggering whenever I can't get a date." Brock's gentle face was twisted with anger and hatred. She could barely recognise him anymore.

"Enough with the accusations," Gary snapped. "We've got a job to do, remember?"

Brock nodded. He walked over to Ash and undid his Pokébelt and pulled it off. "Stop that!" Misty shouted. 

Brock didn't listen. He just raised a Pokéball to recall the unconscious Pidgeotto. He pulled out another Pokéball and looked around. "I don't see Pikachu," he said. "We should look for him."

"Hey, forget the rat," Daisy remarked. "After Gyarados worked him over, I don't think he'll be back." She smirked in a cold, hateful way. "I don't think he'll be back _ever_." Gary laughed evilly and walked over to the woman and kissed her in a remarkably passionate way. Brock laughed hollowly and walked over to Misty.

"Hand over your belt, Misty."

"No!" Misty pulled her legs under her and got ready to fight.

Brock shook his head. "Daisy is right," he remarked. "You really _are_ too stupid to know what is good for you." Brock twisted slightly and delivered a crushing kick to Misty's already battered chest. Misty cried out with pain and fell back. Brock sneered in cruelty. "Hurts doesn't it?" he asked. "Well that is just a taste of the pain you caused _me_ over the years." Suddenly Brock laid into Misty, punching and kicking her again and again until the girl was unconscious. Daisy dragged him off. "Hey! Calm down," she hissed. "We don't want them dead, _yet_." Brock drew in a deep breath. He spat on Misty's still form.

As Brock began his beating, Ash got to his feet. "Leave her alone, you bastard!" he shouted. Ash charged Brock, but Gary got in the way. He tripped Ash over and then grabbed him by the lapels of his sports jacket and dragged him to his feet.

"This is what you get for trying to be the best when _I'm_ around," Gary snapped. He delivered a crushing punch to the face that sent Ash tumbling to the floor. "And this is for being a champion before me," Gary added, kicking Ash hard in the stomach. Gary paused for a moment, then added several more kicks to face, stomach and chest for good measure.

All Ash could do was lie there and cough blood as Brock unbuckled Misty's Pokébelt and pulled it off her frighteningly still form. Brock nodded firmly. He turned back to his new allies and handed the stolen belts over to Gary, who stuffed them into his pack. "Let's get out of here," Gary said. "They're both finished, one way or another."

"Shouldn't we take Misty?" Brock asked, recalling Onyx. "I thought you said you wanted her to work for you at the Gym again, Daisy."

Daisy smirked sadistically. "I do, Brock dear," she said. "But in the end…" she sighed. "I think that we will avoid a lot of trouble in the future if we just let it end here instead, don't you think?"

"I see your point," Brock said with a slight laugh. He took a moment to spit on Ash's bloodied body before walking away. The three conspirators turned and left the small clearing without one backward glance.

Ash was still semi-conscious. He crawled over to Misty and touched her pale face. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was uneven and weak. "Misty…" he murmured. Then he allowed the pain to overwhelm him and he sank into the darkness.

***

Jessie, James, Butch, Cassidy and Meowth were walking through the forest. Butch had released his Raticate, who was walking at his side. It had been a rare good day for them. They had just carried out a very successful raid on a Pokémon breeding centre. Several hundred newly-hatched Pokémon were on their way to the Boss. Giovanni was, for once, pleased, and he allowed his five field agents a day's furlough in Cerulean City.

"I still say that powder blue has become the new black," Cassidy insisted. "It goes with virtually everything. _All_ the top designers are using it this season."

Jessie shook her head patronisingly. "My dear Cassidy," she said with a smirk. "Nothing will ever replace black. Blue is just a passing fad. Right James?" she turned to her tall partner for confirmation.

James started at his inclusion. "Black and grey are more adaptable," he declared. "They were saying what they are now saying about blue about green last year."

"What do you know?" Cassidy asked with a pout. "You're just a man."

"He knows a lot more about lingerie that most men," Butch added with an acidic laugh. Cassidy laughed too. James' somewhat… unusual tastes were legend in Team Rocket.

James flamed a bright red. "At least I've got a fashion sense," he snapped. "It's better than you two!"

"Hey, I know about fashion!" Butch protested.

"Then tell me what goes best with green slacks and _no_ helping him out, Cassidy!"

Jessie laughed again. "She won't be much help," she remarked. "I mean, she keeps her hair in _pigtails_ for God's sake."

Cassidy's face burned bright red. She liked her look a lot. Butch told her that it made her look cute and innocent. She liked it when Butch complimented her like that. She liked it a lot.

The argument started to build and Raticate sighed deeply. "Rati-rat-rat-cate-ate-icate!" [For once we win and still they argue!] he said with a disbelieving roll of his eyes.

"Meowth! I tink dat they like it dis way," Meowth said.

Raticate scowled at his Trainer and the other humans, who were now close to blows over what was the universal colour for underwear. [I think humans put too much emphasis on those ridiculous outer coverings. Our hides are good enough for us, why not them?]

"Have you evah seen humans naked?" Meowth asked. Raticate looked up at him and shook his head. No. "Well I have," Meowth continued. "Meowth! I've known evah since why dey wear dat stuff!"

[Not a pretty sight?] Raticate asked in interest

"Impractical," Meowth revealed. "Dere are bits dat tend to wobble around too much."

"Pika-ka-pi! Chu-kachu-pikachu!" called a familiar voice.

Meowth turned and gaped at the sight standing nearby. "Meowth! Hey, it's dat Pikachu!"

The four human Team Rocket agents stopped. It was indeed _that_ Pikachu, the one that they had been trying to capture for years. Now he was standing and gesturing to them wildly. "What does he want, Meowth?" James asked.

"Meowth! He says we gotta follow him!"

"He wants _us_ to follow him?" Butch asked in disbelief. "He's crazy. Raticate, body slam that mouse!"

"Furry attack, Meowth," Jessie shouted. "We can't let _them_ get the credit for this capture!"

Meowth charged, but Pikachu easily dodged the clumsy attack. He then Thunder-shocked poor Raticate, who fell onto his side, his eyes crossed. "Chu-kachu-pikachu!" he called again.

Meowth picked himself up. "He still saying we should follow him," he said. "Meowth! He sounds desperate."

Jessie knelt down and looked at the electric mouse carefully. "He's been through a battle," she said. "He looks kind of weak. What could have happened?"

"Hey, do we care?" Cassidy asked. "If he's looking for help, maybe the twerps are out cold, we could claim all their Pokémon in one go." _Besides if someone is in trouble_, she added to herself. She shook her head. She was Team Rocket now, and she shouldn't worry about such things.

Jessie, ever the competitive one, took the initiative. "Whatever," she said. "Let's see what the little rat wants."

***

"Oh… my… God…" Butch muttered. Ash and Misty were barely alive. Someone had hit them with a melee attack that had very nearly caved in their ribcages. Then whoever it was had beaten them before stealing their Pokémon.

"Where's Brock?" James asked, looking around. "We've got the Twerp and the Brat, shouldn't he be around?"

"I don't care," Butch said. "Well, there are no Pokémon here except the rat and the girl's Togepi. Should we… uh… try to capture them?" Even Cassidy shot the big man a horrified look. Butch looked down in shame.

"We might be thieves," James said, "but we must have _some_ standards. They are half dead, Butch."

"Yeah…" Butch muttered. 

"Dere were fire attacks and watah attacks here," Meowth reported. "An' I see tracks from Brock's Onyx. Uh… I know dis sounds dumb, but it looks like dat Onyx was da one dat knocked dem down."

Jessie was horrified and amazed. "Brock's Onyx?" she shook her head. "That's… disgusting! Why would he do such a thing?"

Butch listened to Meowth's report before saying something. Something that was obvious to someone of his remarkably straight-line mind. "Maybe someone paid him off."

"You will never understand friendship, will you Butch?" Cassidy asked rhetorically. She was examining Misty's and Ash's broken ribs and their numerous other injuries with some concern. "This happened after the attack that knocked them down," she said thoughtfully. "They must have been in agony, but they still fought whoever did this, trying to protect their Pokémon." Cassidy found herself thinking about what would happen if someone were to take away her Drowzee and Sandslash. She would be devastated. They were her closest friends, next to Butch. She shivered. "Jeez, they are going to feel horrible, assuming they live."

Jessie looked at the little Togepi closely. He was in tears as he pleaded with his Trainer to wake up. "I… I can't do it," she finally said, tears prickling at her eyes. "I can't just leave them here to die… we've got to help them."

"Jessie, they're our enemies," Cassidy said gently. "They… oh shit, who am I kidding?"

On an impulse, James leaned down and tried to comfort Togepi. "There, there, little one," he said. "They will be all right."

"You think so?" Butch asked in surprise. All three looked at him again. Butch began to fret. He was no intellectual, and he was starting to get the picture he was missing something. Then it hit him like Cassidy's favourite mallet. "Yeah, we've got to call the medevac blimp," he realised.

Within ten minutes, young Mondo was flying the huge Meowth-shaped airship overhead. "I guess you owe us this time, kid," James said, stroking Ash's black hair with an affection that surprised him.

***

The man known as Giovanni diRocketti looked into Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower's faces as he stood in the Headquarters' medical ward. Contradictory and confusing emotions flashed through his mind. Ash and Misty had been a class-1 irritant to him for years now, but he couldn't forget what the boy was… and if the girl was important to him, well that made her important to Giovanni too. "What is the prognosis, doctor?" he grated.

"We have repaired the damage to their bodies," the doctor reported. "Now we can only wait for them to wake up."

Giovanni nodded. He had to get out of here, now. "Tell me the very second one of them regains consciousness, doctor," he ordered and fled the ward.

A few minutes later, he was sitting at his desk. He had shouted at old Mondo until his lieutenant realised he didn't want to talk about Team business right now and had fled the room. Giovanni was doing something that would have shocked any of his agents. He was crying. 

In his hand he had a faded photograph. The picture was of two young people, a black-haired man with a cheerful face and an elegant woman with long red hair, both wearing the white uniforms of Team Rocket field agents. Joseph and Miyamoto Ketchum. A little girl with red hair stood in between them. Their daughter, Jessica Musashi. And in Miyamoto's arms was a tiny baby. Their son, Ashton Satoshi. Those two had been his mother's best agents… and his brother and his sister-in-law. John Ketchum, as he really was, leaned forward and wept as an ancient pain raced up to grab him again.

He still remembered the agony when he heard that the rumours of rare Pokémon held at Dr. Samuel Oak's labs in Pallet Town was, in fact, a trap. Joe and Miya had fought like demons and had rendered over thirty Security Police officers unconscious before their last Pokémon was blown into the next life with a rocket launcher. Then, without giving them one chance to surrender, the SPs gunned them down. Giovanni had risked a lot to recover their bodies from the Pallet Town mortuary. His beloved baby brother and his beautiful wife were utterly unrecognisable. Between them, they had been shot more than a hundred times. 

He remembered the name of the officer in charge now… Jenny… Jenny something. Oh yes, Jenny Blake. She had received a fat bonus and a big promotion for murdering them. He still remembered with rage her public appearances and TV interviews in which she described her people's heroism against 'overwhelming odds.'

Giovanni was a busy man. As much as he would have liked to have raised the orphans himself, he could not do the job well, he knew that. Jessie and Ash were both placed with foster parents. Jessie was placed with two former Team Rocket field agents, and Ash with Miyamoto's sister, Delilah, who took the surname 'Ketchum' to stop awkward questions about the boy.

Delilah _wasn't _Team Rocket, so she had no reason to know why Ash's uncle was so very angry when she moved to Pallet Town and started dating one Professor Samuel Oak. The arguments soon led to an ultimatum that Giovanni quickly regretted issuing. It was too late, however, and he had lost contact with his nephew. Over time, the memories grew dim. 

Jessie's foster parents turned out to be unequal to the task the Boss gave them. Jessie was traumatised by the loss of her parents and had retreated into a kind of amnesiac denial. She ran away from home when she was just eight years old and disappeared. Then, five years later, she was back in Giovanni's life as a newly-inducted Black Rocket. 

As far as he could tell, she had no functioning memory of her real father and mother, and certainly none of him. She had joined under the name 'Jessica Scarlet.' As far as he knew, she genuinely believed that to be her real name. So he let matters rest. She had her chosen life and a young man that she was apparently wild about. If she was happy, then it was the most he could ask for.

Giovanni smiled sadly as he remembered the first time he heard of Ash beginning his Pokémon Journey. At first, he hadn't been sure, but as he read the reports from Jessie and James, he became more and more certain that this was his nephew. At first, he was disappointed that the boy was so insipid as a Trainer, but as time progressed and he grew in his skills, Giovanni no longer had any doubt that this was the son of his brilliant brother. 

When they faced each other at the Earth Gym, every last hint of doubt left Giovanni's mind. Ash was Joe's son all right. He had the same lethal tactical brilliance and the same incredible bond with his Pokémon.

It was a strange experience, reading Jessie's comments on her lost and forgotten baby brother's tactics and the way he repeatedly defeated their genuine efforts to capture his Pikachu. Giovanni had been in a quandary. Should he call his agents off? Ash had never met him in his entire conscious existence. As far as Giovanni knew, Delilah had told him nothing about his real parents and had raised him as her own son. Giovanni could not afford to make exceptions for a boy that was only a relation in the most purely biological way. His responsibilities to the Team meant that he had to keep Jessie and James on the case. Later he occasionally assigned Butch and Cassidy too, hoping that rotating the opposition would keep his nephew on his toes. And boy, had he lived up to his uncle's confidence.

Jessie and James, bless them, had somehow begun to understand Giovanni's ambivalence. They stopped really trying to capture Pikachu soon after Ash started voyaging in the Orange Islands. Ash seemed to recognise this and Giovanni could only look on, enthralled, as brother and sister became involved in an elaborate shadow-play of trap and response, strategy and tactics. It was a game of chess and Ash and Jessie played it well. To the outside observer, it seemed real, but Giovanni knew them too well to be fooled.

Then there was James and Misty. Giovanni felt odd, worrying about both his young relations' closest friends, but he still felt responsible for them. Both of them had very passionate and unpredictable relationships, but it was obvious that Jessie adored James and Ash worshipped Misty, even though both were too proud to ever admit it. The feeling was mutual. Giovanni could see it in Jessie and James' body language and he saw it when Misty ran out to embrace and kiss Ash when he won the Johto Division.

A champion of two whole divisions in successive years! Giovanni had been so proud. Then the boy had taken a whole year off and had gathered a menagerie of Pokémon unlike any Giovanni had heard of before. He imagined that his senior staff must have been very surprised when he came to watch the Indigo Division Challenge Cup on the big screen TV in the recreation room last year. They must have been amazed at the way he cheered when Ash won the cup and guaranteed his admission to the League for the next year. Giovanni had put a lot of money on Ash winning the Indigo League. Well, it looked like he had lost that bet.

Now Giovanni put down the picture and looked at his agents' reports. He had to agree with their conclusions. Brock Slate was involved in this horrific attack, somehow. The man was never far from Ash and Misty's side. His absence from the site of the battle and the tracks of his Onyx were all extremely suggestive. Not proof positive, not yet, but that would come in time.

The intercom sounded. Giovanni hit the 'answer' button in annoyance. "This had better be good," he snapped.

"Sir," said Doctor Williker, "Ashton Ketchum has regained consciousness. You said you wanted to know. Sir? Sir, are you there?" Williker didn't know it, but he was talking to an empty room. Giovanni was already running towards the hospital.

**__**

Chapter 2 – In the Hands of the Enemy

Ash looked around him. The room could be one from any hospital he had ever been in, and he had been in quite a few over the last four years. Almost at once, however, he noticed one thing was wrong. There were no windows. None at all.

"Mis… ty…" he croaked. His voice was scratchy and his throat felt like sandpaper.

"Don't try to talk, Mr. Ketchum," a pretty blonde nurse said as she measured his vital signs. "You've been on oxygen for a week now, so your throat will be very dry."

__

A week! Ash thought in amazement. Then, irreverently, he was thankful Brock wasn't here. He would really gum up the wheels of progress by trying to proposition the nurses. Then the memories struck and he began to cry. _Brock… oh God, why?_ He remembered the man's scornful laughter and the pitiless way he had beaten Misty. _Misty! Please, God let her be alive!_ "Misty!" he said more firmly.

"I said, don't try to talk," the nurse repeated. She took pity on him and pointed to the right. Ash felt like his head weighed tons, but he could move it enough to see Misty in a bed next to him. She was a nasty sight, covered in bandages, bone braces and various tubes. Ash imagined he looked a similar horrific sight. He could see the readings of the life support monitors were steady and strong. He relaxed. All he had to do was wait for her to wake up. She had better do that soon. Ash wasn't ready to accept the alternative.

"How is he, nurse?" asked a man in a medical green uniform, clearly the doctor. His whole uniform looked familiar. There were the usual medical touches, but something about the shape and the general feel of it…

"All his vital signs are stable, doctor," the nurse replied. "He has fully regained consciousness. His EKG shows no hint of concussion and his visual acuity is good."

"That is excellent," the doctor said. He walked over to Ash. "Now don't try to talk. I know you are very confused, but I promise that we will answer all your questions in due time." Williker noted the way Ash was looking at Misty. "Oh don't worry, Ash. Misty will be all right. We are expecting her to wake up any time now. Now, if you don't mind, I have someone outside who wants to speak to you."

Ash didn't feel in the mood for any visitors, but that made it all the more important that he receive this one. He felt as low as he had ever been, lower than when he crashed out of the Indigo Division that first year, and he needed the cheer a visitor would bring. He nodded weakly.

Of all the people in all the universe Ash expected to see, the last one he expected came through the door. Giovanni diRocketti, the Gym Leader of Viridian City's Earth Gym. The leader of Team Rocket. Ash gasped and instinctively tried to rise up, but his battered body betrayed him. The man in the stone-coloured Team Rocket uniform walked right up to Ash, who cowered away. He and Misty were dead, he knew that now. Once Giovanni had finished amusing himself, they were facing torture, brainwashing or worse.

Then Ash noticed something. The man was… nervous. Almost hesitant. It was as if he didn't know what to say. This wasn't the confident terrorist leader he knew. The man was almost as terrified of Ash as he Ash was of him. "Hello, Ash," he said gently. "Don't be afraid. You are in Team Rocket's headquarters on Black Island. Jessie, James, Butch, Cassidy and Meowth brought you here after they found you and Misty on the verge of death in a forest clearing near Cerulean City."

Giovanni drew in a deep breath. "Don't be afraid," he repeated. "I am not going to hurt you or your Pokémon. You are safe here, and I want you to concentrate on getting well. Once you are up and about, we'll see about getting back the rest of your Pokémon and helping you reclaim your life."

Ash looked up in fear and surprise. He noticed that there was something familiar about this man. Something from his oldest and dimmest memories. "Why…?" he croaked.

Giovanni sighed and ran his hand through his black hair. "Well, I should leave this for later, Ash," he said. He looked at the expression of desperation on his nephew's face and relented. "Ash," he said. "It is a long story but the short version is…" he paused. "My real name is Jonathan Ketchum, and I am your father's brother." Giovanni smiled in a shaky way. "Yes, Ash. I am your uncle."

Ash's mind screamed. He almost stopped breathing. _No…that isn't possible… _he protested. _He is evil, he can't be a part of my family. It can't be true, can it?_ 'Uncle John…' it seemed familiar. It brought back memories of a smiling black-haired man… a beautiful redheaded woman who wasn't his mother but seemed to think she was… and of a little girl with a silly smile and fiery red hair. Ash felt his world begin to crack open and collapse around him.

"Just rest, Ash," Giovanni said. "I will answer all of your questions in time."

***

Jessie and James were hopping from one leg to another, incredibly nervous. No less a figure than The Boss had just walked out of Ash and Misty's room and strode past, wearing an expression that boded ill for anyone who failed him today. Dr. Williker walked out of the room and stared at the two nervous field agents in a way that seemed to combine disapproval and scorn. "Yes, what do you want?" Williker demanded.

"Er…" James stuttered. Jessie kicked him. "We… we would like to see the patients," he finally blurted out.

"James! Try to make it sound less official," Jessie protested. "We would like to see Ash, doctor," she repeated. "We were the ones who brought them in, remember?"

"Ah yes!" Williker said more warmly. "Well go in. Young Mr. Ketchum is awake, although I'm afraid that Ms. Waterflower still hasn't regained consciousness."

Jessie nodded in comprehension. The two entered the room.

"Hello, Ash," James said in a friendly tone. Jessie waved nervously. 

"Hi… guys…" Ash whispered. "Your… boss… tells me… that… you hauled… us in…" Ash swallowed and licked his lips behind the oxygen mask. "I… guess… I should… thank… you…"

James shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance. "Ah, you would have done the same for us… and you have, now I think about it."

Ash smiled weakly. Jessie was feeling a storm of contradictory emotions. She dealt with it by arranging the bunch of flowers she had brought on Ash's bedside cabinet. She wished she could figure out why Ash seemed so familiar from the beginning of that first confrontation… why she felt she had always known him.

"How… is… Pikachu…?" Ash asked quietly.

James laughed. "He has been rejuvenated and is tearing up the Pokémon habitats wanting to get at you," he revealed. "We've left Togepi with him, and that makes him feel better."

"You… leave… them… alone… bully…" Ash whispered with a wan smile. He could well imagine that Pikachu would hate being kept away from him with him so ill.

Jessie reached forward and touched Ash reassuringly. "He is yours, Ash," she said. "The Boss has promised us that." That made Ash feel better. The touch especially. From the first moment he had met Jessie at the Viridian City Pokémon Centre, he was sure he knew her from somewhere. He still thought that, but couldn't figure out from _where_. Then there was the mystery of Giovanni's claim to be his uncle. All in all, it was turning out to be a long day.

James shifted nervously as a couple of nurses began to fuss over Ash's intravenous drips. "Well, you're tired," he said. "We shouldn't keep you up right now. We'll visit tomorrow."

"Bring… Pikachu… and Togepi," Ash asked.

Jessie blinked and leaned forward. "There are no Pokémon allowed in the medical bay," she whispered. "How would we do that?" Ash grinned up at her as best as he could. Surely as accomplished a tactician and a thief as her could work something out. Jessie got his drift and grinned carnivorously. "Dumb question," she said.

"We'll figure it out," James promised.

Ash leaned back, incredibly tired. He had so much to think about, but his head hurt. If he closed his eyes, it would make it hurt less. Yes, just rest his eyes…

***

"Mr. Ketchum," said a voice. "Ash, wake up, son."

Ash rolled his head. "Go 'way…" he murmured. "Wan' sleep…"

"Mr. Ketchum, Ms. Waterflower is awake and is asking for you."

Ash snapped his eyes open. He was still in the intensive care ward at Team Rocket HQ. Damn. He had hoped that was just a bad dream. He was glad _this _part wasn't a dream, though. Misty looked at him from her bed, her expression tired and fearful as Team Rocket medics checked her vitals. "Ash…" she whispered.

"I'm here, Misty," he said. The doctors had taken him off of external oxygen and his voice was more assured today. "We're safe, don't worry."

"Ash… Brock… why?" she asked, her beautiful face reflecting her torment.

"I wish I could tell you," Ash said in a horrified, empty tone. "But you are still here, still alive and that is all I need."

Misty looked at him unsteadily, an ancient question in her beautiful green eyes. "Yes, Misty," Ash said gently. "I love you. I always have and I always will."

***

Jessie and James returned the next morning, as promised. They were a lot less nervous as they strode into the Intensive Care ward. Misty was very nervous as she watched them enter. Ash had explained what little he knew, so she understood that they were in Team Rocket's headquarters somewhere, but she couldn't stop feeling like a prisoner. Like it or not, Team Rocket had been their enemy from the first day, and now their very lives were in the hands of that same enemy.

"Hi guys," Ash said in greeting. "Good to see you again."

James nodded in greeting and Jessie winked at Ash in a very conspiratorial way. "Nurse, please leave the room and close the door behind you," James ordered in a distinct tone of command.

The brunette nurse looked up in surprise. "I'm sorry?" she asked in surprise.

"Leave. Now," Jessie clarified with a dangerous scowl. "We are here to interrogate the prisoners, and the Boss feels that the information they have is too sensitive for unauthorised ears."

Misty's fear jacked up a notch or two and even Ash felt uncertain as the two teens watched the nurse splutter and stutter. "I wasn't informed that they were scheduled for interrogation!" she finally said.

"That's right, you weren't," James agreed with a broad smile.

The nurse scowled and left, closing the door behind her. There was a long dangerous pause as Jessie and James looked at Ash and Misty. Then the two White Rockets burst into gales of laughter. "You should see the look on your faces!" Jessie sobbed. "Oh, how I wish I had a camera."

Ash blew out a breath in relief and relaxed. Misty looked furious but she clearly didn't know how to respond. "Very funny," Ash said. "Next time why don't you just point a gun at us or something?"

Jessie shook her head. "That isn't a nice thing to say, especially when we brought you some gifts!"

"Gifts?" Misty parroted in surprise. "What gifts?"

James pulled two Pokéballs off of his belt. He activated them and threw one at Ash and one at Misty. The balls split open. Pikachu materialised and ran up Ash's body to hug his face excitedly. Togepi materialised and bounced down next to Misty. Both youngsters gasped in amazement and began to greet their friends.

"You were as good as your word," Ash said. "Thanks, both of you." Misty was crying as she hugged Togepi, but she managed a slight smile of gratitude around her tears.

***

A week had passed and the time had come to test Doctor Williker's work. Both Ash and Misty were signed onto a standard physiotherapy program to reverse the muscle degeneration and bone decalcification caused by their long bed rest.

There was a bit of a surprise. "I'm afraid we had to cut your clothes off of you when you were brought in," the young nurse explained to them. "With your injuries, there was no other choice. We do have civilian clothing available if you want it, but… er…" The woman seemed nervous and she paused as she considered how to say the next part.

Ash shot Misty a surprised look and turned to the nurse and stared until she continued. "Mr. diRocketti ordered that you be issued these clothes instead. He also ordered me to tell you: 'This is not a demand or a threat, Ash and Misty. It is an open invitation. You have been betrayed by nearly all those whom you considered your friends. It is a lonely world for those who have lost everything, but I can offer you new friends and a new family.'"

Ash and Misty just sat there, staring in blank surprise at the black Team Rocket uniforms that the nurse had hung up by their beds. "Oh," Ash said after a long moment.

Misty reached out and touched the uniform by her bed. She jerked back as if she had been burnt. "Ash," she said in a quiet, desperate tone. "What do we do?"

***

"I thought that you would want to read that, sir," Mondo told Giovanni.

"Well done, Mondo," he replied. He looked at Ash and Misty's obituary in _Indigo Today_ with a feeling of sick rage. 

That bastard, Sam Oak, hadn't even waited for bodies to be found. From his agents in Pallet and Cerulean, Giovanni learnt that Misty's oldest sister, Daisy, and Oak's grandson Gary had been named Ash and Misty's 'heirs' in a 'will' that Brock Slate produced at a press conference. They would inherit all of their Pokémon, and Gary would defend Ash's championships 'in his name.'

Giovanni nearly threw up as he read the interviews with Slate, Gary Oak and Daisy Waterflower. If there were any doubt that they were all involved, it was gone now. Oak's actions were least surprising. The grandfather was a two-faced traitor and liar, so why shouldn't the grandson follow in his footsteps? Well, he would see that the books were balanced, but only in due time. He noted that the elder Oak seemed to be an active participant in this filthy business. He had been telling reporters about how Ash and Gary had always loved each other like brothers and how Ash had told him that Gary was his chosen successor if anything happened to him.

Poor Delilah was inconsolable. Giovanni felt sorry for her. She was a sensible woman who had genuinely tried to do her best for Ash, but she had never understood why her sister joined Team Rocket. She had tried to keep Ash out of harm's way, but the boy's destiny would not be denied. Giovanni wondered what lies Sam Oak had told her. He briefly considered sending her word, but no. That would be counter-productive at this time.

He turned to a medical report. Physical therapy was progressing well. Emotional damage was harder to assess, but Ash and Misty were helping each other. There was a darkness in the boy, though, a darkness that was manifesting itself in unarmed combat and firearms training as a lethal skill and hateful accuracy. Giovanni had seen a similar darkness in Joe, and it had always worried him. The boy needed help, but the question was, what kind of help did he need?

Perhaps all he needed, all that both of them needed were what Giovanni could so easily provide. A cause and a purpose to believe in. A direction to walk, now that all of their previous hopes and dreams had been taken from them by a cheap, malicious betrayal.

Giovanni sighed. It had been six weeks now. Ash and Misty were almost up to Williker's exacting standards. Now the hard choices were coming.

"Trainees Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower to see your, sir," reported his secretary.

"Send them in," he ordered.

Now there was a sight that he had dreamt of ever since Ash won the Earth Badge, but he had never really believed it would happen.

Ash stood in the inlaid Team Rocket sigil on the floor. His ebony black hair, from what he could see under his uniform cap, was neat and his brown eyes had, thankfully, regained a little of their warmth and humour. Misty stood at his side, her ginger hair in a neat ponytail that stuck out from behind her uniform cap and her green eyes shining with vitality and kindness. Both were resplendent in new black uniforms with a bright red 'R' on a white circle over their hearts. Giovanni noted that Misty had no make-up on, preferring simply to be 'clean.' Interesting. She was nothing like Miyamoto at all. Both young people snapped to parade rest and stared blankly into space, awaiting his word.

"Dr. Williker says that you are almost back to full health," Giovanni said in a neutral tone. "And I understand from my training staff that you are both showing definite promise in the skills that we teach. Have either of you thought about what you want in the future?"

"Yes sir," Ash said formally. "With your permission, we want to stay with Team Rocket. In a way, we died in that clearing. Now we are going to have to find a new life."

"Is that your view too, Ms. Waterflower?" Giovanni asked.

"Yes sir," Misty replied respectfully. "We have nothing left from our former lives anymore."

Giovanni sat back and sternly fought back tears. "Perhaps this might change your views on this matter," he said firmly. He threw the paper over to Ash who caught it. Misty leaned over his shoulder and they read the highlighted articles with interest. Giovanni watched his nephew's face twist with anger and fury. Even Misty, who was normally an oasis of calm, looked outraged. "That… shit!" Ash snapped. "How could he lie so easily? That…" Ash's face flamed in embarrassment when he remembered where he was. "Sorry, sir," he mumbled.

"It seems Messrs Slate, Oak and Waterflower are profiting from your disappearance," Giovanni remarked. "However, if you were to reappear and denounce them…" he let his voice trail off.

"I don't think they would have been so stupid not to plan for that," Ash announced, slowly getting control of his emotions. "If they have Professor Oak's help, and it looks like it from what I see here, I'm sure they have arranged that they would know if we tried to upset their little plot. I doubt they would make the error of leaving us alive _twice_."

"Yes, that is my analysis too," Giovanni purred. "So, what do you want, Ash Ketchum?"

Ash looked at Misty, who smiled reassuringly. The level of love Giovanni saw flash between them shocked him and made him wonder when Dr. Leona Morgan was next scheduled to rotate back to Headquarters. "I will follow you anywhere, Ash," Misty said. "You've always known that."

Ash smiled in gratitude and turned back to Giovanni. "Then our decision stands," Ash said. "Our future lies with Team Rocket." Ash smiled humorously before adding: "Boss."

Giovanni smiled. "You have no idea how much this means to me, Ash," he said. He stood and walked over to his two newest agents. He shook their hands warmly. "Ashton Satoshi Ketchum and Misty Kasumi Waterflower. I welcome you to Team Rocket."

**__**

Chapter 3 – The First Mission

"Agents Ketchum and Waterflower report to Briefing Room 6. Agents Ketchum and Waterflower report to Briefing Room 6. That is all." Ash looked up from where he had been puzzling over a manual on the skills of sabotage and electronic warfare when he heard the tannoy blare his name. 

This was it. The time that he knew would have to come ever since Giovanni had given them the blood red 'R' necklaces that signified that they were fully accredited members of Team Rocket. The Boss had been kinder and more generous than Ash had any right to expect, but now Misty and he would have to start paying their way. "Come on Pikachu," Ash said to his little friend, who had made a comfortable nest on the pillow.

Ash vaulted off of his bunk and pulled his uniform jacket from his foot locker. Pikachu jumped off of the bunk and ran over to Ash. Ash leaned over and let him run up his arm to his shoulder. Using his 'stealth' training so he would not to disturb the other five sleeping Black Rockets in his dorm, he walked out, pulling on his uniform cap as he left.

Outside Briefing Room 6, he saw a familiar and welcome sight. Misty was leaning against the wall, frowning in a preoccupied way. Togepi was levitating besides her, smiling with his usual good humour. "Hey, Misty," Ash greeted her.

"Ash," Misty said, smiling warmly. "Have you any idea what is up?"

Ash shrugged. "We'll find out when the Boss wants us to know," he said. "You know him: a puzzle box within a maze behind a secret panel."

Misty laughed, then sobered hastily as the door to the Briefing Room opened. "Come," ordered a familiar voice.

Ash and Misty walked in smartly and stood at attention before Mondo Jones Senior, the grandfather of the Mondo who was Jessie & James back-up. There was no sign of Giovanni, something for which Ash was absurdly glad. He had never mentioned the bit about being his uncle since that first day, and Ash still hadn't decided what to think. Not being around the Boss made it easier to avoid those hard questions.

"Sit," Mondo ordered. When the two neophyte Black Rockets were seated at the desks that curved amphitheatre-like around the room, Mondo lifted a remote control and pressed a button. 

The lights dimmed and the large screen at the back of the room flashed on. It was displaying a familiar map. Pallet Town. He tensed. It looked like Giovanni had chosen to test his loyalty from the outset. "The Oak Pokémon Research Centre," Mondo announced, circling the appropriate portion of the map with his laser pointer. "The largest Pokémon ranch and research facility in south-western Indigo." Another press of the button and the wall display showed a blueprint of the Centre. There was no need, Ash knew it very well. Mondo continued his briefing. "For some time, we have been monitoring Professor Samuel Oak's work here and have determined that he had developed a thorough database of Pokémon pathology and immunology. As the biggest threat to our operations remains the possible use of tailored biological weapons, we must have access to that information.

"Your assignment is to gain entry to the Research Centre, download a full copy of Oak's research and then destroy the lab containing the computers. We anticipate that Oak will be alone with his assistant, Tracey Sketchitt, at this time, so we do not expect much resistance. Any questions?"

"How much effort should we go to in avoiding being seen, sir?" Ash asked.

Mondo shrugged. "Remember, Ketchum, you will be blowing up a large laboratory. I don't think it will be possible to go undetected."

"I meant until then," Ash said, blushing with embarrassment.

Mondo laughed slightly. "Try to avoid being seen before you make your entrance. It would probably be best if no record of _who_ broke in survived."

Ash swallowed. Tracey was there, and Ash didn't know what he would do if the likeable Pokémon watcher walked in on him and Misty while they were in the middle of data piracy and sabotage.

"How should we handle Oak and Sketchitt?" Misty asked. 

__

Well, bless you Misty, Ash thought in relief. Trust her to ask the question that haunted him. He was grateful for her remarkable empathy towards him sometimes.

If Mondo was surprised at Ash's nervousness or Misty's question, he didn't show it. "They are not a mission priority," Mondo replied. 

__

In other words this isn't an assassination, Ash added silently.

"If either of them discovers you during the mission," Mondo continued, "take whatever steps you feel are necessary to complete the mission. I leave the details up to your discretion and imaginations." He looked at the two young people questioningly. "Any other questions? No? Good. You will be issued a single Pokémon, security avoidance equipment, demolitions equipment and a class A1 air transport. You will proceed at sea level to the coast to avoid radar detection before approaching Pallet using the hilly countryside for cover. Once you arrive, our planners anticipate that it will take no more than fifteen minutes to complete your mission."

Mondo pressed the button again and the Briefing Room lights returned to normal. Ash and Misty stood. "Dismissed," Mondo said and watched them leave.

***

Giovanni watched from the balcony as the two-seat blimp headed off to the north and Indigo Island with a loud roar from its twin turbofans. "They are on their way, sir," Mondo reported.

"Good," Giovanni replied neutrally. "Are Butch and Cassidy on station?" Mondo nodded. Giovanni sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It is a big assignment, Mondo. Do you think they can handle it?"

"They are the most remarkable Trainees we've had since… well since your late brother and his wife, sir," Mondo said. "I think you will find they are equal to any challenge."

***

Pallet Town was beautiful on this moonlit night, Ash thought. How odd that he was sneaking around the place when his first instinct was to run to his home, kick the door of its' hinges, grab his mother and get her away from the place as quickly as possible. It was also strange to be at the Research Centre not as a visitor or as a pupil but as a raider.

He and Misty were now very close to the new biology lab building. They were using every bit of their security training to defeat the building's defences: laser beams, motion detectors and, amazingly enough, alarm wires in the wall. Ash thought for a moment but suddenly Misty was tugging at his arm. She pointed up and mimed a laugh. A skylight was open. _Oh please,_ Ash thought with a grin. This was _too_ easy. He would bet his entire pay for the year that Tracey left that open.

Access to the roof was gained without too much trouble. Ash paused and opened a packet of powder and let it waft through the skylight. As he expected, there was a criss-cross pattern of lasers guarding the entrance. Ash gestured to Misty and she started handing him some apparatus they had been issued. They were a series of prisms and mirrors that they placed across the lasers, ensuring that the laser beams remained uninterrupted while they went through the skylight.

Ash lowered Misty in on a rope, keeping it slow so that the motion detectors would not pick them up. Misty, with a series of almost dance-like movements, moved slowly to the centre of the room. She placed and activated a box. The Brownian Interference Generator (irreverently called the BIG Jammer in the dorm rooms) effectively blinded the motion detectors. Ash lowered himself in after Misty.

"Right," she said, walking to the computer. "Let's get this done. I'll handle the computers, Ash, you set the charges."

"Yes ma'am," Ash said with a grin. He opened his backpack full of explosives and began to set them out.

Things were going smoothly. A little _too_ smoothly. Ash had finished laying the bombs and Misty had beaten the password protection on the computers. As Ash watched, she attached an external memory pack to a serial port, inserted a disc full of espionage software into the floppy drive and began to download the data the Boss wanted.

At that moment the door opened and the lights snapped on. Ash turned and looked at Professor Oak and the beefy security guard with some surprise. "What the…? Who the hell are you…? What are you…?" Oak spluttered. The security guard charged them recklessly. "Pikachu," Ash said, pointing at the man.

"Pika-CHU!" the electric mouse squeaked. An electrical discharge flared around the security guard, making him jump and jerk like a badly operated puppet before he collapsed in an unconscious heap. Oak turned to run but he was seized by an invisible hand and thrown across the room. He hit the far wall with a solid thump and hung there, three feet off of the ground.

"Togi-togi-priii-to!" Togepi chirruped happily.

"Nice work, Togepi," Misty said calmly and with a broad smile. 

Oak frowned at the two Black Rockets violating his laboratory. There was something familiar about these two. Something odd. Still, he had one tiny chance left. They hadn't seen the Pokémon that had been with him. "Rattata! Get help!" he shouted. The Rattata turned and fled. 

Ash cursed venomously. "Pikachu, pursue and disable," he ordered. Pikachu ran out, looking as angry as Ash was. He turned back to Oak. "That was dumb, old man," he snapped. "Now keep quiet or _else_."

Oak's jaw dropped open, partially at the threat, and partly because he recognised the angry boy standing in front of him. "No…" he whispered. "It can't be. You're dead! My grandson killed you! YOU'RE DEAD!"

"That's right," Ash said with a dangerous smile. "I'm a Ghastly now, and I've come back to haunt you!" He jumped forward and shouted "BOOGA-BOOGA!" making Oak jump in fear. Misty laughed. "Honestly, Professor, do we look dead to you?" Ash asked with a smirk.

Then it happened. The moment Ash had feared, but had known was bound to happen. Tracey Sketchitt walked through the doorway. "Professor, don't you ever sleep," the man said with a yawn. "It's two in the… morning…" Tracey gaped at the two Black Rockets in surprise and fear. "What the… let him go!" he shouted. "Scyther, I choose you!"

Tracey's giant fighting bug, Scyther, materialised in the middle of the room. "Oh damn, go Charmander," Ash countered, releasing the fire-type issued to him by the organisation. He hoped James' claims about the quality of Team Rocket Pokémon training were justified.

Scyther raced forward looking for a quick Slash attack. Ash gestured to the left and Charmander dodged the charge. Scyther agilely turned and slashed at his opponent, but Charmander back-pedalled out of range and, at Ash's command, unleashed a flame thrower attack that flared around Scyther making him screech in pain. Ash winced, he didn't like this, but he couldn't let Tracey and his friends get in the way.

"Whirlwind Blade attack," Tracey ordered. Scyther started to spin, turning into a whirling cutting tool that could carve through even the toughest of hides.

"Back off," Ash ordered. Scyther pushed forward, trying to drive Charmander back against a wall. Ash let him think he was succeeding. Then, at the very last second, he countered Tracey's move. "Under and Fireball 'M,'" Ash ordered. Charmander ducked under the whirling Scyther's blades and spun around to unleash a fireball attack. Scyther blocked the fireball with his blades, but the suffix 'M' meant multiple attack. The second, third and fourth fireballs found their mark, causing Scyther to moan in pain. Ash winced in empathy. "Good job, Charmander, now finish it. Pound attack!"

"Char-man-der, Der!" [Coming up, Boss!] Charmander shouted, jumping at Scyther and brining his powerful hind legs down hard on the giant bug's head. Scyther toppled onto his face, unconscious.

"Oh no, Scyther!" Tracey shouted in disbelief and empathic pain. "Return." Ash turned to see Tracey draw another Pokéball. If he had any sense, it would be Merril, but Ash had no desire to injure any more of his old friend's friends. He pulled out his P92 semi-auto pistol with under-slung laser spot and lined up on Tracey. At the very last moment, he moved the red spot from the centre of Tracey's forehead to next to his right ear.

In the small lab, the pistol shot was amazingly loud. Tracey gasped in fear and pain, deafened by the shot. A nine-millimetre hole had appeared in the wall beside his head. His hand opened and the Pokéball, still locked shut, dropped to the ground. "Smart move," Ash said. "Charmander keep guard on this person. If he so much as twitches towards a Pokéball, set light to his clothes."

Charmander nodded and walked over to Tracey, watching him with a fierce expression.

Tracey looked at the two Rockets resentfully, then he _really_ saw them for the first time. "Ash? Misty?" he breathed in disbelief. "Is it you?"

"Yeah it is. Hi, Trace," Ash said brightly. Misty looked up from the computer with a preoccupied frown, but managed a wave and a smile.

"But… in Team Rocket uniforms?" Tracey said, caught between joy and horror. "You… you're dead! Everyone says you were killed in a training accident in Viridian Forest! It… it was Team Rocket wasn't it?" Tracey's voice became pitying. "Oh, Ash. What have they done to you?"

"They told me the truth. It was the first time in my life that anyone did that, Tracey," Ash replied severely. "Then they gave us the chance to choose sides. I think I've chosen the right one."

"Ash, Misty, I don't know what they've told you… what lies they filled your head with," Tracey said gently, "but it isn't the truth. They are a force of evil and you have no place with them. Now stop this and let me help you."

Misty sighed. "Tracey, we haven't been brainwashed," she said. "Team Rocket saved our lives after Gary, Brock and my sister Daisy attacked us and left us for dead." Misty paused and glared up at Oak. "From what I've heard, this isn't the first time your family has been involved in back-stabbing."

Oak managed an expression of wounded innocence. "My dear, I have no idea what you are talking about," he protested. _Come on Rattata_, he thought. _Bring help!_ "It is obvious that Team Rocket has filled your minds with propaganda and possibly filled your body with drugs to reduce your ability to tell reality from lies. Now, put me down and I will help you." Tracey nodded frantically.

Ash shook his head. "I don't need your help, Professor," he said. "I read the lies you, Brock and Gary have told about me. I've read about how you backed up Gary's ludicrous claim that I chose him to inherit my titles. I know what side you are on, and it certainly isn't that of the truth."

Tracey swallowed. He hadn't believed it when he read it, and now Ash was saying his instincts were right.

"Ash," Misty suddenly said with horror. "I was looking up our old Pokémon." Ash was beside her in a second. She began to cry. "Oh Ash, it's horrible. Oak has… rehabilitated them."

"Oh no," Ash said and started to cry as well. 

Tracey gasped in horror. Rehabilitation was an incredibly restricted form of treatment for Pokémon. It involved reducing their experience levels to zero, effectively deleting their memories and making them like fresh starters again. It was only used when a Pokémon had been badly abused by a Trainer. And it could only be done by a few League officials, which Oak was most definitely was not.

"Why?" Tracey demanded. "That's barbarity! Why, Professor, tell me that!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Oak snapped. "Gary told me that several of their Pokémon knew what really happened. If they told the others, he and Daisy would have a mutiny on their hands. I had to make sure there was _no_ witnesses. None that mattered, anyway." He scowled at Ash. "What a tragedy that Gary didn't make sure of you, boy."

"Do you… have a good reason for doing this?" Ash asked gently, his face twisted with fury. Misty paled. Ash sounded like that in unarmed combat class when he was getting ready to rip an instructor limb-from-limb.

Oak rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Ash," he said. "Gary wants to be a Pokémon Master, so did you. You were better than him. So he acted to remove the opposition. A remarkably clear piece of thinking from my grandson, I must say. Of course I helped him, he is my blood and I owe him that."

Tracey looked like he wanted to be sick. Ash looked at him compassionately. "I don't think you have to guard him anymore, Charmander," he said. He recalled the fire-type to his ball. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Trace. I know you idolised this piece of filth. Truth be told, I did too."

Misty came out of her trance suddenly when the memory unit bleeped cheerily. "We've got the data, Ash," she reported.

"Good," Ash replied. "Pack up, we're blowing this place back to hell." 

Pikachu walked in. He looked at Tracey in a weird way before turning to Ash. "Pika-chu-kachu-chu-pi, Pika-pi," [That Rattata is no longer a problem, Ash,] he chirped in a cheery tone of voice.

"Good work pal," Ash replied. "I'm sure your remember Professor Oak, Gary's grandfather. It seems he has rehabilitated all our old friends." Pikachu's ears flattened against his back in fury. "I thought you would feel that way," Ash said. Ash turned to Oak. "You are going to pay for what you have done, old man."

Oak sneered. "Really, Ash?" he asked mockingly. "I know you, you won't kill me. You are too gutless to do that. You proved that when you spared this pathetic queer idiot's life earlier." Tracey flushed angrily at the homophobe comment. 

Ash smiled dangerously. Misty walked alongside him and touched his arm warningly. "Don't worry, Misty," he said quietly before turning back to Oak. "You are right, Professor, I don't kill," he announced. "But I do take revenge, every now and then. Pikachu, kindly let the Professor understand the meaning of the pain we both feel."

"Pikachu-chu-ka, Pika-pi," [My pleasure, Ash,] Pikachu hissed angrily. There was a blue white lightning storm that connected the little rodent with the man that Togepi was telekinetically holding against the wall. Oak screamed and thrashed for a good thirty seconds until Pikachu stopped pumping across the kilovolts.

Misty touched Togepi and the little psychic-type released Oak, who slumped to the ground, only semi-conscious. Ash turned back to Tracey. "The timers are set, Tracey," he said. "You have five minutes to get them all out of here, and then…" Ash fell silent and mimed an explosion. "Good luck, old friend. Maybe we'll meet again under better circumstances."

***

Ash and Misty were airborne in their blimp when Tracey dragged Oak out of the building, his Venonat and Merril dragging the stunned security guard. As they floated overhead, Ash armed the blimp's weapons systems. Through his helmet-mounted sight, he centred the 2MW laser cannon on Oak's grey head and his finger caressed the trigger thoughtfully. _No_, Ash decided. _He's right about one thing. I can't kill in cold blood. He knows that I know, and that is punishment enough for now._

Then the biology lab simply disintegrated into a bright yellow-white fireball that lit up the scenery for miles around. Misty cheered loudly. Ash shouted his glee too. "Hell, I love it when stuff falls apart nice and neat like that," he said approvingly.

Misty suddenly leaned over Ash's shoulder from her rear pilot/navigator's seat. "Hey, Ash," she said. "Take a look at that." Down below, hundreds of the Pokémon kept at the centre were running about, confused and disoriented by the explosion. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mr. Raider?" she asked with a broad smile.

"I'm no psi-type, but I know what I want," Ash replied. As Misty piloted the blimp over the largest concentration of Pokémon, Ash pressed a button that released two hundred Pokéballs from a storage bay under the crew car. The Pokéballs began to split open and suck in the surprised Pokémon before they even realised they were under attack. The balls automatically levitated back into their bay. Ash checked the blimp's computer. "We got over 120!" he exulted.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear," Misty said with a vulpine grin. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"One last thing to do," Ash said. "The Professor and Tracey know, but what if there was no proof…" 

Misty raised her brows at that and then nodded approvingly. "It will certainly create confusion and give us time to let the trail go cold," she agreed.

Ash powered up the blimp's 70mm rockets and selected an explosive/incendiary payload. He lined up on the second floor office where the security videos were recorded and stored and pulled the trigger. Five rockets reduced the room to a fiery ruin. "Now we can go home," Ash said with satisfaction. 

Sitting on his lap, Pikachu nudged him. "Pi-chu-pika-ka-pi-chu-pi, Pika-pi?" [Did we do the right thing, Ash?] he asked.

"Yeah, pal," Ash responded confidently. "We did the right thing and are _doing_ the right thing."

Tracey saw the gunship blimp turn and fly away from the burning Pokémon Centre with a roar from its engines. He recalled Merril and Venonat, looked down at Professor Oak with a deep sense of scorn and turned. He walked away and never once looked back.

***

Somewhere over the Southern Sea, heading towards Black Island, it suddenly hit Misty hard. She began to cry. In the confines of the fighting aircraft's cockpit, Ash couldn't really see her, but he managed to catch her eye in the rear view mirrors. "What is it, Misty?" he asked gently.

"It has suddenly struck home," she said. "Up to now, this was a game, like a make-believe session at school." She sighed and closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. "But it isn't a game. We are Team Rocket terrorists. We've just committed multiple thefts, assaults and several acts of sabotage… My God… how did it come to this?"

"I don't have any answers, Misty," Ash replied. "All I can say is that I don't think we have any choice about the direction we are going. We didn't from the moment Brock decided to sell us out. The only way we have left to ensure justice is done is to go marching under the banner of Team Rocket."

Misty nodded gently. She understood the reasons. Hell, she was the one who originally talked Ash into staying with Team Rocket in the first place! What other choice did they have? Even so, she knew that she had lost something this night. Something she would never regain and would miss forever. She no longer had her innocence.

***

"All the objectives completed _and_ over 120 Pokémon stolen without a single trace left behind. Well done, both of you," Giovanni said, reading Ash's report. "Very well done; an exceptional job all told."

Ash smiled smugly and Misty's expression became more relaxed. "Thank you sir," Ash said. "I wouldn't say that we were perfect, sir," he continued in a tone of modest demur.

Giovanni rode right over him. "But _I_ would, Mr. Ketchum. You both displayed all the qualities that Team Rocket needs in its' agents. You were swift, efficient, brutal where necessary, but also displayed a keen understanding of mercy and right. You can both be justly proud of your performance."

By now both Ash and Misty were blushing a brighter shade of red than the Team Rocket sigil. Giovanni had mercy on them. "You will be glad to know," Giovanni continued, "that your assessors agree with my analysis. Your performance was better than good, it was _faultless_."

"Assessors?" Misty asked in surprise.

"Butch and Cassidy were watching, Ms. Waterflower," Giovanni explained. "They videoed the whole thing. You will be glad to know that it already is going the rounds around various teams as a favourite recreational title." Ash and Misty had the grace to look embarrassed and Giovanni had to laugh. "Enough," he said after a moment. "All that matters is that this was your final assessment as to whether you were ready to join the cause in its' long struggle. You _are_ ready. You've proven that." Giovanni stepped around the desk and walked over to shake Ash's hand. Feeling a little daring, he even kissed Misty on the cheek. "I am glad to have you with us, Ash, Misty," he said gently.

"We're glad to be here, sir," Ash replied with a slightly silly smile. Giovanni stepped back and grinned indulgently as his two newest agents hugged happily.

"Now," Giovanni said, returning to his desk. "I'm assigning you to an experienced team to act as back up and assistance wherever needed. You will assist in their field operations and provide whatever physical or logistical support they feel is necessary." Giovanni looked up. "I know that you both feel ready to take on the world on your own, but this team has been operating successfully for some time. I want you to obey your team leaders without question. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Ash and Misty chorused obediently. Giovanni didn't believe them for a millisecond, but their promise was enough for now.

"Good," Giovanni said with a genuine smile. "I think you know them." The doors opened and Jessie, James and Meowth walked in. 

Ash's face broke open in a smile and he shouted in glee. Misty ran forward and hugged Jessie excitedly. "Jessie! Oh wow, this is going to be _great_," she squealed.

Jessie chuckled. "That's what you think, Misty, we're going to work your pants off!" She hugged her friend back, a suspicion of tears in her eyes.

Ash walked over and slapped James on the shoulder. "We're ready," he said. "The question is: are you?"

James laughed in response. "I think this will be a learning experience… for all of us," he said.

"Meowth, dat's right!" Meowth said, rolling his eyes.

"Pika-ka-chu-kachu-pi," [You have no idea!]

Giovanni cleared his throat and the four humans and three Pokémon separated, looking at him in embarrassment as they remembered where they were. "I'm glad to see your team bonding is off to a good start," he said dryly. "Now you have your assignment. Get out."

"Yes sir," they all chorused. Giovanni watched them nearly run out of the door and heard their voices rise again as they ran across someone they recognised in the antechamber. He sighed and shook his head. _Did I ever have that energy?_ he asked himself. He pulled out the tattered photograph again. "You would have been proud of them, Joe, Miya," he said to his dead kin. "Very proud indeed."

__

To be continued…

****

Concluding Notes

Woo! So what do you think? Comments, suggestions, praise and **CONSTRUCTIVE** criticism to [BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk][1]. Flames will only serve to keep me warm on these cold winter nights.

Should I continue? I have ideas for a total of three parts. Please… please review and let me know… please…

   [1]: mailto:BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk



	2. Terrorists

Pokémon **__**

Team Rocket Neo

A Pokémon nightmare by [BenRG][1]

****

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all technologies of the Pokémon universe are the legal property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Productions. No violation of any legal property intended. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet.

****

Author's Notes

Four years have passed since Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower, victims of a brutal betrayal by their family and those they considered their friends, were forced to seek shelter with the terrorist group Team Rocket. They have spent this time growing in their terrorist skills and developing their own fearsome reputation amongst the law enforcement agencies of the Indigo region.

Now they face a kind of coming of age. As they continue to serve the interests of Team Rocket, they must face the possibility that they will be required to do something that violates their principles. When that happens… what will they do?

And in the background are the betrayers, those who had profited from their pain. What are they doing and when will books be balanced?

This is really a transitional piece. I am working on part 3 (of at least 6 as far as I can plot it) and that will have a lot more action.

Believe me, Ash and Misty are going to be _very_ OOC. After four years of stealing and roughing up Team Rocket's enemies, you should expect it. Note: Neither has reached the point yet where they have been asked to kill.

****

Censor: R for some rather deliberate musing on sexual identity

Ages: Ash is 18; Misty is 18; Jessie is 25; James is 24; Brock is 26; Gary is 20; Daisy is 24; Giovanni is 40; Delilah is 39; Tracey is 22

CONTENT WARNING: Some minor profanity and a shades of grey alert. There are no heroes in this story, only those who are slightly less bad than others. Sometimes the price of survival is a lot higher than people expect.

****

Book 2 – Terrorists

__

Chapter 1 – How the World has Changed

FLASHBACK – FOUR YEARS AGO 

"I tell you that Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower are _alive!_" Professor Samuel Oak shouted at his insufferably smug grandson.

"Yeah, right Gramps," Gary sneered. "They have come back from the dead to teach me the true meaning of Christmas. I don't think so somehow."

"Yeah," laughed Gary's lover, Daisy Waterflower. "Like, they got up and walked off with all those broken ribs and put each other back together without tipping off _one_ of your contacts at the various hospitals in the area." Daisy laughed again, a contemptuous sound.

"They've been gone for three months, Gramps," Gary added. "Face it, I can handle killing without your help."

Oak scowled. "You are a pair of idiots," he said. "Do you forget Team Rocket so easily? They have interfered before, and they will again. If you are smart, you will be ready for the day you wake up with them leaning over you. Don't come crying to me then!"

Oak stormed out of the Cascade Gym in Cerulean City, his face flaming with embarrassment. He should have known that his idiot grandson wasn't capable of understanding the magnitude of this threat. 

Well, he would just have to wait. Ash and Misty could stay hidden for decades in Team Rocket, but that wasn't their style. Eventually, they would come charging out looking for 'justice' or some other strange concept. When that happened, he intended to be ready.

FLASHBACK ENDS 

Oak sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. They were alive, there was no doubt about it. Their faces were now well known throughout Indigo as being among Team Rocket's most feared emissaries. The amazing thing was that no one really believed it was the _real_ Ash and Misty, but a pair of Team Rocket agents surgically altered to resemble them. Gary, and his wife Daisy, were lead proponents of this theory.

Oak sighed and looked at the back of his hands. He had to get a plan ready, but all that he could think about was to wonder where Delilah Ketchum was now.

***

Delilah Ketchum had not consciously smiled for four years now. Not since the moment when Sam Oak brought her the news that her son Ash was dead. He was only her foster son, the son of her late sister, but he might as well be her own child for all she loved him. She had mourned for months before something happened that, perhaps, should have stopped her pain but instead only heightened it to an unbearable agony.

She did not smile now, although she found the sun and the cooling sea breeze on Sabre Island in the Orange Archipelago pleasing and relaxing. She stood almost at the edge of a tall sea cliff, watching the tide beating on the hard white rocks below with an unhealthy interest.

If Ash could see her, he would be shocked. Her long red hair had lost much of its' vitality and was streaked with grey. Lines were forming around her mouth and her eyes. Speaking of which, those eyes that were once a bright vivid green but were now a lifeless slate grey. It had been an agonising few years indeed.

Everything could be traced back to the moment when Tracey Sketchitt had knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Delilah rose and saw that the Research Centre on the hill above Pallet Town was ablaze. Delilah was in hysterics when she admitted Tracey. The devastation at the Research Centre and Tracey's grim expression could only mean one thing: Sam Oak was dead. After loosing Ash, she knew she would not be able to survive this.

What Tracey had to tell her could not have been more different or more terrible. Ash was alive. _Alive! _He and Misty were both alive and well and had been at the Research Centre. Delilah could only listen in horror as Tracey described how he had entered the new Biology Lab to see Professor Oak held prisoner by two black uniformed 'grunts' from Team Rocket. Tracey explained how he fought and was easily overcome, and how he recognised the male Rocket's fighting style.

Ash and Misty: Members of Team Rocket. Delilah screamed at Tracey that he was a filthy liar, that this couldn't be true. Then Tracey told her how Ash and Misty had given the details of their betrayal by their kin and closest friends and how they had denounced Sam and Gary in the clearest terms. Tracey's description of Ash's actions and words were too _right_ to be a fantasy, Delilah realised it was true.

Tracey told her that he was leaving Pallet, indeed that he was leaving Indigo and returning to his home in the Orange Islands. He had to think very carefully about his options. However, he would not leave her alone that night, not with 'that monster' Sam Oak possibly looking for revenge.

They were two lonely people who had lost their every friend, their every dream and their every illusion. Perhaps it was inevitable that they should have instinctively sought from each other the most ancient comfort two human beings could offer each other.

So it was that they left together the next day. Together they returned to Tracey's old home on Sabre Island. They were able to make a modest living from Tracey's art and Delilah's secretarial skills. Together they made a new life and tried to decide how they could find a place in a world turned upside down so comprehensively. 

Delilah now watched Tracey climb the hill, his strange pink headband holding his long black hair out of his eyes. "You look a picture of beauty, Delilah," Tracey said. "Every bit the sea goddess of myth." Who would have imagined that he would have found her interesting? She knew he wasn't really interested in women as a rule. However, Tracey would not abandon her and he was more than willing to comfort her as she was willing to comfort him.

Delilah shook her head at her young lover's outrageous compliment. She blushed slightly, her halter top and sarong _were_ a bit revealing, and it amazed her that Tracey, with his… preference… should be affected by it. "If that is a plea for another nude study, Tracey, forget it," she said severely. "I really don't look _that_ good."

"Yes you do," Tracey replied with an expression of total sincerity. 

Tracey hugged the hideously wounded woman to himself and tried once again to comprehend their shared pain. Every time he heard the distinctive sound of a Team Rocket air transport, he half hoped, half feared it was Ash and Misty. He had regular dreams, or perhaps nightmares, where they returned to carry him and Delilah off to who knows where. But years had passed and he and Delilah had only seen the pair in the news, developing a reputation as thieves and terrorists beyond compare. Eventually they stopped looking, for it only made their pain worse. The only comfort they had left in this harsh world was each other. 

As Tracey and Delilah hugged, they smiled, even though they did not know they were doing so, and they absorbed warmth from each other. After a few minutes in each other's arms, they separated, having decided once again to stay alive, for just one more day.

***

"Prepare for trouble,"

"And make it _double_!"

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all peoples of our nation,"

"To denounce the lies of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie,"

"James,"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender, or prepare to fight."

"_Me-owth!_ Dat's right!"

The Gym Leaders of the Indigo Division looked at the intruders with expressions that reflected their utter surprise. They had been meeting in the huge glass dome atop the Pokémon League building in Viridian City, supposedly the most secure spot on the island continent of Indigo. The topic for the day was Team Rocket, and a suggestion by Master Trainer Gary Oak that the League should form a task force of senior Trainers to combat the terrorist organisation's increasingly bold depredations against League property and personnel. It seems that news of the agenda had leaked out.

Jessie and James, with Arbok and Victreebell out of their Pokéballs, were fearsome sights. Both had changed their style a little in the last few years. Both were wearing what could loosely be described as battle armour in the Team Rocket white field agent colours. Their black gloves and boots were now made of kevlar, as were their short white tunics. Jessie had kept her unique customisation of no cover over her abdomen, but had changed her hideously impractical miniskirt to skin-tight trousers with a loose white belt with a bright red 'R' buckle. Add on to that their six Pokéballs and their service pistols and they were every bit the terrorist legends that their reputation insisted they were.

They had entered in the most terrifying way they could achieve, by blowing out one of the glass panels in the dome and rappelling down onto the middle of the table. They now sneered around at the terrified Gym Leaders with some disdain. None of them seemed to have thought about using one of their Pokémon to defend themselves.

Quite an interesting bunch really. Among them there was that overblown ex-military guy, Lt. Surge, Brock Slate's absentee father, Flint and Sabrina von Daimen, a telepsychic and something of a nasty character in her own right. Oh… there was one missing. Daisy Oak was absent and her younger sister Violet Waterflower represented the Cascade Gym in her place. Giovanni was there too, in his public persona as the leader of the Earth Gym. His presence made Jessie and James all the more determined to do well.

"You have all been _bad_ little monkeys," James stated in a mocking tone. He started to walk around the table, occasionally kicking a carafe of water onto a paralysed VIP's lap. "Didn't you think Team Rocket would hear of your little plots and schemes?"

"Well we did," Jessie said. "So our glorious Leader sent us to deliver a little message. Don't try it. We can break into your top-security meeting room and can get into your Gyms and Pokémon Centres just as easily. If you screw around with us, we will screw around with you, and believe me, you won't like it."

"You won't get away with this," Flint Slate grated. "You cheap thugs might posture in your Halloween costumes, but you will find it much more difficult to get out of this building. There are security people on every level."

"Oh dear, are you threatening little me?" Jessie asked brightly. She knelt on the table in front of Flint and began to stroke his wiry black beard like he was a fluffy animal. "I am so frightened," she simpered with a laugh.

James walked up beside her, put a boot on Flint's chest and pushed, making him topple over onto his back. "When will you people understand that you are totally out of your 'league,' if you will forgive the pun, when you are dealing with Team Rocket?" he asked, letting his expression become threatening. "Your security staff can't help you. Attempting to create a vigilante army won't help you. Only one thing can save you from Team Rocket's vengeance and that is this: Stay out of our way. Do not interfere with any of our operations or molest any of our personnel. You co-operate and you survive. End of message."

Jessie and James turned to exit the way they came in, when Sabrina suddenly spoke up. "Actually there is something you should know," she said in her precise voice. "While you were delivering your ultimatum, I was telepathically summoning help. I really think you should consider surrendering."

Once, this would have daunted Jessie and James, but no longer. Jessie actually laughed. "Oh sister, are you in for a surprise," she predicted.

At that moment about a round dozen security guards burst through the door. Victreebell unleashed a hail of razor leaves that sliced through armour and flesh. The pain made them reel back. Then Arbok body slammed her long length into them, knocking them back into the hallway.

In the chaos, Violet jumped to her feet and drew a Pokéball. Meowth was in front of her in an instant, holding a claw to her throat. "Don't try it, pretty," he hissed. He knew this was Misty's sister and that the young Rocket would feed him to her Dragonite if she was hurt, but _Violet _certainly didn't know about that restriction.

Jessie recalled Arbok and swapped her for Fearow. The massive raven-like Pokémon generated a mirror wave defence that deflected a hail of bullets from the security guards' weapons. VIPs hugged carpet, but the matter was getting out of control. If nothing changed, even if the three Rockets remained unharmed, bystanders would be hurt and that was unacceptable.

***

"Looks like things are getting pretty hot."

"Yeah. Should we go in after them?"

"Well, Jessie would be mad if we spoiled their fun."

"Fun? You call that fun?"

"I'm kidding! Come on, let's extract them with our usual style and efficiency!"

***

It was, indeed, getting kind of hot in there. Meowth had just knocked out Lt. Surge's Electrobuzz. Jessie had blown a second contingent of guards out of the room using Fearow's Omni blast and James was discouraging any other Gym Leader from interfering by having Weezing spit sludge in the face of anyone that moved.

"Here come more of them," Jessie warned. This group were wearing armour and were waving shotguns and laser rifles. Definitely more difficult to beat.

As it turned out they didn't have to bother. The entire glass dome turned into a trillion sparkling cubes of safety glass and Team White Bravo's Meowth-shaped blimp dropped down into the meeting room like the proverbial hand of god. The side access hatch swung open and a tall, heavily built young man wearing a black uniform with a red 'R' over the heart and mirror sunglasses jumped out. He was wielding a pair of MP-5K sub-machineguns like they were antique six-shooters. A Raichu, of all things, clung to his back, peering over one shoulder.

The man emptied half of his guns' magazines in the general direction of the security guards, who all dived for the floor. The way the first bullets zipped through the wall indicated they were armour piercing types.

Everyone panicked and ducked when the man started shooting, except Jessie and James who had every confidence in his marksmanship, even with the notoriously inaccurate sub-machinegun. He grinned at them in a friendly and engaging way. "Did someone order a pizza?" Ash Ketchum asked lightly.

"Very funny," Jessie snapped. She recalled Fearow and stamped onto the blimp. James rolled his eyes at her bad mood and gave Ash a friendly slap on the back as he walked into the aircraft. Meowth had already dived inside.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's stay calm," Ash said, sweeping the room with his guns. "That's right. No one tries to be a hero and no one gets hurt. We'll be leaving now. Thank you for your attention." He jumped onto the blimp and shouted over his shoulder. "Misty! Punch it!"

The blimp's three turbofan engines screamed to full power and the massive airship went into a dramatic power climb. As the aircraft lifted off, Ash waved jauntily to the Gym Leaders from the hatchway. "Bye now!" he called. "Nothin' but love for ya, you know?"

"Ai-ai-chu-ai!" [Bye, bye, suckers!] Raichu laughed from his place on Ash's shoulders.

As the blimp climbed away, Violet's eyes filled with tears. Daisy had insisted it was just a double, someone altered to look like her, but she had _seen_ the woman at the pilot's controls. And the woman had seen her. She had waved in a friendly fashion and mouthed 'Love you, Sis' in Violet's direction. Her sister Misty was alive.

Sabrina looked up at the climbing aircraft with a horrified expression. "The Chosen One has been turned," she announced to no one in particular. "God help us all."

***

"Did you have to take off with that hideous steep climb?" Jessie shouted from where she was untangling herself from James at the back of the cockpit.

"No," Misty replied over her shoulder. "I just prefer it that way." A warning buzzer began to sound. "We've got company, two Security Police jet copters coming in from the west."

"Get us down into the streets," Ash ordered, strapping himself into his seat at the weapons/countermeasures console. Jessie and James just about strapped themselves in before Misty tilted the blimp into a screaming nose-dive into the artificial canyons of Viridian City's streets.

The jet copters had the advantages of manoeuvrability and speed compared to the blimp, but the blimp was being piloted by a young woman who felt the safety limits of her aircraft's design were suggestions by those too weak and gutless to know what was really possible. Already constrained from using their weapons for fear of civilian casualties, the SP pilots had to back off from the pursuit for fear of hitting a building in trying to match the blimp's wild manoeuvres.

"Take a left, rotate and hold," Jessie ordered, seeing an opportunity. "Ash, get the lasers ready."

"I'm well ahead of you, boss-lady," Ash replied, arming the blimp's forward dual laser cannon turret.

The blimp turned down a side street, rotated around 180 degrees and stopped dead. The lead jet copter turned the corner and right into Ash's sights. Ash fired the lasers and shot off the 'copter's tail rotor with his third shot. The aircraft auto-rotated the 100 feet down and smashed onto its' side. "Nice shot," Jessie crowed. "Now let's get out of here!"

The second SP pilot had pulled back when he had seen his comrade shot down. Now he saw the chance of revenge as the Blimp rose over the city. He lined up and fired off a Stingray heat-seeking missile at the strange aircraft.

"Incoming," Misty warned.

"I'm on it," Ash replied. Jessie tensed. She hated it when things got hot like this, too many things could go wrong.

Ash unleashed a cloud of phosphorous flares and Misty hauled the blimp over to the right, chopping back the throttles to halve their forward speed. The missile was decoyed by the flares and shot past. 

Unprepared for the sudden manoeuvre, the second jet copter pilot shot right past the blimp too and into Ash's weapons sights. "You lose, pal," Ash said, firing one of the blimp's older but equally deadly ASRAAM missiles. The missile detonated under the jet copter and the aircraft began to dive, trailing flame and slowly disintegrating. With a sigh of relief, he watched the pilot eject and parachute to safety.

__

Eventually that won't happen, Ash warned himself. _I'm not sure if I would ever sleep again._ He blew out his breath and accepted a congratulatory hug from Jessie and a punch on the shoulder from James. 

Misty smiled at him in her kind, understanding way. She knew how he felt. And they both knew that the day of decision was getting closer with their every new mission. If the people to whom they owed everything they still had demanded it… would they kill?

**__**

Chapter 2 – Evolution

The small cabin in the rocky highlands of the Viridian Forest could be the country retreat of any ordinary person. If you looked a little closer, you would see a black-haired man standing outside cutting wood while a ginger-haired woman sat nearby, talking to him. But this wasn't just any cabin. The first clue was that the man was wearing a necklace whose pendant was a stylised blood red capital letter 'R.' The 'cabin' was actually the only visible part of Team Rocket Safe House #2558.

"We were lucky today, Ash," Misty told her closest friend. "That mission could easily have turned into a bloodbath."

Ash wielded the axe again, cutting another log in half. "Don't remind me," he said. "I've still got the shakes and Jessie looks so green, I think she's going to miss another meal."

Misty shook her head. "Jessie and James tell me that it was never like this a few years ago," Misty said. "There was never so much… hatred and violence involved in this. Someone has upped the stakes and has begun to play for keeps. I would really like to know who."

Ash nodded and wielded the axe again. Working like this might be tiring, but it kept his mind off of unpalatable thoughts, like what would have happened if that ASRAAM had just blown that second jet copter apart. Somewhere on the line, he and Misty had made a huge compromise of their principles, and he wished he could remember when and where he had made the choice.

"We never had a choice," Misty said, reading his mind with her usual easy empathy. "Gary, Brock, Daisy and Professor Oak arranged it so we were finished in any normal life. Team Rocket was our only choice left, and that meant we had to change."

Ash nodded again. He leaned on the axe handle and sighed. "Sometimes I think it would have been better if they hadn't found us and we had died there," Ash declared.

Misty's face flamed with anger. "Damn you, don't you dare say that!" she declared coldly. "I wasn't ready to die then and neither were you! We still have a life ahead of us thanks to Team Rocket and I mean to live it." Ash looked up in surprise at her vehemence. What both of them said in their heads, but not aloud was: _But I am only going to live if it I can live alongside you_. 

Neither of them had really expressed how they felt about the other since that moment when Ash saw a newly-recovered Misty and, believing life as he knew it was coming to an end, admitted feelings that he had never admitted before. Since then, therapy, training and missions had occupied them to the point where they could avoid such questions. Even so, they had become closer than friends, closer even than kin. James had even told Ash point blank to stop fooling around and tell Misty already.

As Ash looked at Misty, he reflected on how much they had both grown, both as people and physically in the past four years. 

Ash was now 6' 5" and weighing in at a solid 250 pounds, most of that being perfectly conditioned muscle. He had let his hair grow longer in a style favoured by male Team Rocket agents, but had kept his spiky fringe. He had modified his black uniform so it fit tighter and didn't get in his way in a fight. He had also converted his tunic into an open-fronted jacket that somewhat resembled his long-lost blue and white sports jacket. He had learnt much and had grown in skill and wisdom too. He could not remember ever _not _knowing how to operate a type A7 blimp's weapons console or not being able to strip a newspaper article of all the nonsense and get to the real truths hidden within.

Misty was now a statuesque 6' 0" and, at 118 pounds, had acquired a trim, athletic build that James secretly envied. She had grown her hair long and it was now spilling down her back in a long ponytail to almost waist-height. Her uniform had been heavily modified at Jessie's insistence. The boots had built up heels and the main bodysuit had been cut _very _tight. Like Jessie's uniform, the tunic ended just under the line of the diaphragm and was arranged to highlight all of her best attributes, although Misty had scorned cutting away the middle of her bodysuit to expose her abdomen. That just looked silly, in her view. She was, in many ways, maturer than the older woman and was the real wisdom of Team Bravo.

Jessie had explained the uniform modification as a psychological weapon. She claimed that many men would be disoriented and distracted if faced by a woman who was so aggressively dressed. It sure as hell distracted Ash. Misty found that if she posed herself just right, he would forget whatever he was doing and just stare like he had been hypnotised. She liked that a lot. 

Funnily enough, Jessie's even more revealing uniform seemed to have zero effect on James. Maybe it was a case of familiarity breeding contempt. Ha, yeah, right! As if! She had seen the way James looked at Ash whenever the younger man was stripped down for work like right now, with the upper half of his body suit knotted around his waist. Still, watching Ash cut wood so semi-dressed was having a pleasantly distracting effect on _her_.

"Ash, Misty, dinner's ready," called a voice. Ash looked up and saw Mondo Jones III, aka 'Young Mondo,' standing in the door of the cabin in his green medical/support division uniform.

"We're coming, Mondo," Ash confirmed. He picked up his jacket and his black shirt. He offered Misty his arm and the two young people entered the cabin.

***

As Ash had predicted, Jessie wasn't very hungry, despite the fact that Mondo's cooking was of the usual excellent standard. No one seemed really interested in conversation either. Jessie, James, Ash, Misty, Mondo and their assigned grey-uniformed technician, Rachel Corolis, all ate in silence. 

Everyone was worried. Team Rocket, despite its' fearsome reputation, was actually a fairly non-violent operation most times. Thefts, bribery, corruption and extortion were all common practices, but massed acts of violence were unheard of, and assassinations were quite rare. 

Recently, however, things had been heating up. The League and the Security Police were cracking down on Team Rocket's activities with massed raids on suspected TR-controlled gyms and operating locations. Several successful field teams had been captured when information about rare or well-trained Pokémon turned out to be a trap. Giovanni had responded by increasing the number of intimidation and sabotage missions. No one was comfortable in suddenly dropping out of the sky on a bunch of novices, terrorising them and stealing all of their (probably worthless) Pokémon just to put the fear of god in the locals.

After the meal, the team retired to the lounge area. Mondo turned on the TV so that they could watch the day's League highlights. After the highlights came the evening news. They were the top news story, but that didn't make anyone feel good. Once they would have laughed and cheered at hearing themselves being described as 'cunning, dangerous villains' and 'Team Rocket's most feared operatives.' Now they just felt tired. The cause was turning out to be a lot of soul-breaking nastiness and very little of the high principles that the indoctrination tutors at HQ promised. 

__

The 'Cause,' Ash thought dispiritedly. _It makes it sound so very noble. Right now I am nothing but a thief and a destroyer of lives. Not very noble at all._

Jessie was grim and staring out into space. James was hovering at her side, literally reeking of nerves. "Look…" she suddenly announced. "I… that is I and James…" she sucked in a breath. "We've requested that we all get rotated back to Headquarters. I think we all need a break before this pressure makes us get careless." Jessie sighed before adding. "I should warn you that the Boss doesn't like receiving requests like this. We… we will probably be broken up and reassigned, but I had to do it… I know none of you can take this pace much longer and… I… Well that's it, I suppose."

No one felt particularly interested in condemning Jessie for doing that without asking them. Ash hugged an exhausted Misty closer to him. "I won't be separated from you, Ash," she whispered.

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen," Ash assured her.

"You will do whatever the Boss says," she contradicted with a grim look. "And so will I. We don't have any other choice, Ash. We are Team Rocket, body and soul; he owns us." Misty seemed on the verge of tears. She was more tired than she had initially thought and, even though she had shouted at Ash for saying it, she was tired of living this life of compromised principle and lesser evils too.

"I swore the oath," Ash said gently, stroking her face, "but I didn't sell myself to the Boss or anyone else. He will find that if he wants to screw around with me, it will be a painful process. For him."

Misty giggled slightly. "You are crazy, Ash," she said. "After all we've been through, you are still not afraid of anything." Suddenly, and without any warning, she leaned up and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "You are still my brave, stupid Ashy-boy. And I'm glad." 

Misty got up and walked off towards her room. Ash stared at Mondo and Rachel, who were grinning at him with infuriatingly knowing expressions. "What?" he said. "Her morale is low and I'm helping her out, is that such a crime?"

"Is her morale the only thing you keeping up, Ash?" Rachel asked with a giggle. The scruffy technician stood up and walked out humming a romantic tune. Mondo dissolved into a fit of giggles too. Ash just scowled and thought about how very much he wished he could just come out and say what he felt for Misty without any fear of official disapproval.

***

Ash was manning the communications console in the cabin's large basement for the 2AM to 6AM 'Graveyard Shift' when the Headquarters central communications desk called. "Team White Bravo, confirm, primary code set," said an anonymous and probably digitally sampled voice.

"White Bravo, code set PS17, Rapidash Flotilla," Ash replied, pulling the code book off of it's shelf.

"Code 299P. 114-355-129-Echo, Alpha, Hotel," the voice said.

Ash flipped through the book to the page 299 and ran his finger down the list of codes until he reached the line with 'EAH' in the centre. The code '114-355-129' was in the left hand column. He slid his finger over to the right hand column and read back the code. "Response Code 999-178-638."

"Confirmed, please wait," the voice grated. There was a pause and then the video screen snapped on. Much to Ash's surprise, it was the Boss himself. Didn't that guy ever sleep?

"Ash," Giovanni greeted warmly. "How are things in Viridian, young man?"

"Er… a little hot, all told, sir," Ash replied nervously. "Should I get Jessie and James?"

Giovanni shook his head. "No need, Ash," he said. "Tell them that Team White Bravo has been rotated back to Headquarters effective from 6AM tomorrow. I'm replacing you with Butch and Cassidy's Team White Sierra."

Ash nodded, not at all surprised with this news. Butch and Cassidy didn't have the same problem with violence and intimidation that was so exhausting his team. They would probably actively enjoy terrorising the hapless locals of this area. A small core of loyalty tried to get some enthusiasm going for this, but all he could do was pray for a little mercy on the civilians. He also hoped that Cassidy wouldn't be brining her special sharp knife she normally only used when she and Butch wanted to relax. "Understood sir," Ash replied neutrally.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Giovanni asked.

"Just a little tired, sir," Ash replied smoothly. "The upsurge in counter-Team activities has kept us from getting enough rest, I think."

"Yes, I know," Giovanni replied kindly. "That is why you are being pulled back for retraining and reassignment. I will see you tomorrow. Headquarters out."

Ash blew out his breath as Giovanni vanished from the screen. He filled out the communications report for the happy bureaucrats back at HQ and started to mentally prepare for departure from the base that had been his home for the last four years. He also began to fret about what 'reassignment' meant. He swore he would not lose Misty. Apart from Raichu and Firestorm, his Charizard, she was all he had left from better times. She was also the most precious thing he had left from better times. The question was: was this a fight he could win? Worse still, did he even care about the price of failure?

***

Misty was up, too. She was sitting in a brightly-lit lounge, grooming her and some of Ash's Pokémon. She had Togetic, Staryu, Haunter and Vaporeon out of their Pokéballs plus Ash's Ninetails and Pidgeot. Raichu was sitting at her side, looking up at her in worry. Dragonite, Wartortle, and her Gyarados, Madcoil, were too big and so were staying in their balls. And Seaking just didn't do the dry land thing. She was grooming her friends and talking to them gently. 

She was still amazed at how quickly Ash had got back into the capture and Training game. Whenever he and Misty had no immediate assignment, they were out searching for Pokémon.

For this reason, Team White Bravo had the largest number of owned, as opposed to assigned, Pokémon of any team. Ash had captured a Bulbasaur, a Squirtle, a Vulpix, a Pidgey, a Magicarp and an Abra to add onto his two assigned Pokémon. He had trained them all so well that they were now an Ivysaur, a Wartortle, a Ninetails, a Pidgeot, a Gyarados and a Kadabra. 

By some miracle that Misty did not understand, Charizard returned to Ash a few weeks after they had arrived at the Cabin. He had somehow known, in the far-off fortress where he had been staying with his kin, that his Trainer needed him. He was a lot more powerful than Ash remembered from before. In recognition of his new power, Ash gave him a name: 'Firestorm.'

After a while, Jessie and James had got in on the game too, and they had captured several new Pokémon themselves, although they weren't as good Trainers as Ash, Misty felt.

Speaking of the finest Trainer she knew, here he was coming up from the basement. "Misty," he said. "Orders have come through, we're heading back to Headquarters." Misty nodded. She had expected this ever since Jessie had made her announcement. Her Pokémon swirled around her as they picked up on her worry. Ash thought she looked like an angel in her nightdress, with the fairy-like Togetic flying around her. "Misty," Ash said. "I won't let them separate us. We are going to be together no matter where we end up."

Misty sucked in a shuddering breath. "Ash, I won't have you destroy yourself for me," she said.

Ash bit back an angry exclamation. "Misty, don't you understand that without you I wouldn't have a life worth having? If you had died back in that forest clearing…" Ash paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I would have just closed my eyes and gone to sleep forever, Misty. I would have ended it, no matter what Giovanni had to say."

Misty looked at Ash in confusion. She felt the same way, but neither of them had said it so clearly before. "Ash…" she said and paused. "What are you saying?"

"I wasn't just relieved and disoriented when you woke up, Misty," Ash said. "I didn't want to say it before now, I mean we are hardly in the ideal circumstances to pursue it, but you must know now." He paused and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Misty. I will say it again, and this time we are both awake and alert. There are no double meanings, no confusion. I love you. You are my light and my life. I will never let them part us _ever_."

Misty's eyes began to fill with tears and she bit her trembling bottom lip. "Ash, I…" she paused. Her instinct was to laugh at him and run away, to protect him from himself even if it was at the cost of her soul, but she could not. She could no longer even imagine what it would be like if he were not there. "Ash, I love you too. You are my strength and my life. I will die before I ever let you go."

Ash and Misty stepped close. Misty looked up and Ash looked down and they exchanged a kiss that was so spontaneous and passionate that the empathic Pokémon began to coo sensually in their own languages. Both Rockets laughed at their friends' reactions and called those of them who permitted such treatment back to their Pokéballs. Then they kissed again, holding it longer, holding each other close and tight.

***

Jessie was not night person. She didn't like it when her nerves and fears (which were many and varied) kept her awake, but they were now. When she saw that the lounge light was on, she strode forward, ready to rip strips off of anyone else awake at this barbarous hour. She turned the corner into the room and saw Ash's Raichu, who looked at her with a warning expression and held a paw to his lips to command silence.

Jessie then heard Misty and Ash moaning, gasping out the other's names and sighing quietly. Jessie, angry, worried and confused, peeked around the corner and saw them together in what could be described as a compromising position. Jessie flamed a bright red, as only a redhead could, and retreated as quickly as possible.

James was probably very surprised when Jessie virtually ran into his room. He had been awake, too, wondering about what the future held when Giovanni received the request for recall. Jessie looked wild and desperate. "Jess… what?" he blurted stupidly.

"No words, idiot," Jessie snarled. She closed the door firmly and virtually jumped on top of James. James didn't know what to think and, after a very brief few moments, didn't want to do the 'think' thing at all.

***

Poor Mondo was at a complete loss to understand what was going on as the team ate an early breakfast and drank hot coffee before shutting up and leaving the base for the last time. 

Jessie was in a foul mood, indicating that she had not slept at all well, and she was virtually shouting at James, who was even meeker than usual. Then the two sat at opposite each other at the table and began to giggle like school children over something. Ash and Misty came in next They were wearing only partial uniform, indicating that they had only just woken up. Ash got two coffees and enough cut fruit for two then sat down. Then Misty sat on his lap and the two ate breakfast that way.

__

Why me? Mondo pleaded to himself.

**__**

Chapter 3 – A Place in the Darkness

"Air Transport Romeo Whiskey 2-9-4, cleared for landing in bay 2," said a pleasant feminine voice.

"Bay Two, aye," Misty replied as she guided the blimp towards the huge hangers built in the cliffs below the headquarters buildings. She had never got over the sheer impressive power of the headquarters facility, especially from the point of view of a pilot. Ash, who was busy trying to convince the targeting computers to copy their engagement records onto a ZIP disc, was apparently not so affected.

Jessie and James were already waiting at the side hatch, both carrying their duffels. It was strange, sad and somewhat pathetic that all they could show for over twenty years of life could fit in about two cubic metres of storage space. Meowth was standing nearby, looking like he felt very uncomfortable. 

Normally, there would be a little quiet chatter, finalising their upcoming verbal report to Giovanni and discussing what they intended to do on leave. However, after last night… well they weren't thinking about their report or their leave, indeed neither of them knew what to think about _anything_. 

It was fair, on the whole, to categorise both of their emotional histories as 'abnormal.' James was so lonely and emotionally damaged that he would accept whoever would be so kind as to offer him the comfort of their company. He had never had a relationship that had lasted more than a few hours. Jessie had only had one lover previous to James last night, and that was when Cassidy had seduced a young and incredibly vulnerable Jessie during her time as a Trainee. 

Jessie and James' relationship had started as a bond of friendship and survival on the mean streets of Viridian. They had retreated into a professional façade during their Team Rocket careers, but now they found themselves simply making excuses to spend time together. They increasingly realised that, sometime in the past eight years, they had simply grown too close to bear being apart.

There was a slight jerk as Misty eased the blimp into its' docking cradle in the hanger. After a brief pause the hatch opened. Jessie and James walked out onto the docking gantry and walked through the exit gate into the base proper.

In the cockpit, Ash and Misty were just finishing off shutting down the blimp's systems when Rachel walked in. "Guys," she said, "this is, like, really my job. You'd better get going. I'll finish off in here."

Ash nodded and stood up. "It has been good working with you Rachel. Thanks for everything you taught me about engineering."

"Yeah," Misty said with a fey smile. "Thanks for teaching me how to get the extra ten percent out of these birds. Wherever we go, it won't be the same without you, team-mate." Suddenly Misty's eyes filled with tears and the two women embraced. "Ex-team-mates," Misty sobbed. Ash put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt at comfort. Misty smiled at him, touched his hand and was able to let Rachel go. They grabbed their duffels and walked away from the blimp.

***

All four agents checked in at the Sergeant-at-Arms' Office, as per normal procedure. Much to Jessie and James' surprise, there was no special request from the Boss to see them. No, he wanted to see Ash and Misty! "Meowth, I don't get it!" Meowth almost shouted. "Our most successful tour of duty yet and da Boss wants ta see our back-ups!"

"Yeah, well we owe a lot of it to them," James said in a snide tone to the feline Pokémon. "Maybe Raichu is going to be Top Mouse from now on!" This possibility made Meowth look so horrified that James had to laugh.

Jessie firmly fought down a sense of jealousy. Such feelings were, in her view, unworthy of her. Ash and Misty's performance had been superb and she had no doubt they were moving on to great things, while she and James had been caught in a rut for some time. Still, it was enjoyable watching the look of surprise and fear race across the two Black Rockets' faces when they read Giovanni's summons. "Well," Jessie announced loudly, "that is the last we will ever see of you two, obviously."

If looks could kill, Ash's venomous snare would have instantly reduced Jessie to an anonymous grease spot on the far wall. Misty looked utterly terrified. James spoilt the fun by relenting faster than Jessie would have liked. "Don't worry," he counselled. "The Boss always issues new major assignments personally, it is just his personal touch, that's all."

Ash nodded in thanks. "Er… guys," he said, "I don't know how long we'll be here, but maybe we'll see you in the cafeteria tonight?"

Jessie shrugged. "Maybe," she said with a slight smile.

"If you are still in a position to eat without a straw," James amended. Both of them thought that was hilarious. 

Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Grow up, you two," he sighed. Misty grinned and dragged him off.

"What did he mean 'grow up?'" Jessie asked in outrage.

"Yeah! We're a model of maturity!" James added.

"Only compared to da Crèche babies," Meowth muttered and got Jessie's fan across his ear for his troubles.

***

Giovanni had worked on his poker face for years and was very proud of it. He could deliver anything from a birthday greeting to a death sentence without once changing his expression. He was now using it plus a little something his mother had taught him called a 'Basilisk Stare' to hold Ash and Misty firmly to the spot as they stood before him.

Both Jessie and James' reports had described the two younger agents' performance in the most glowing of terms. And Giovanni could rely on the reports of his own eyes. Their professionalism, notoriety and their dedication were a shining example that had suddenly made Team Rocket a serious career prospect for many young people. Now he had to decide if they were ready to move on to the next stage of their roles in the great game.

Giovanni was an experienced leader of men, and he could tell that Ash was ready to defy him with no care for the consequences if he did not like what he heard in the room. That reminded him of Joe. His brother was almost unmanageable when he was younger. The only thing that bound him to any hint of discipline was Miyamoto. Giovanni hoped to use Misty, who was calmer, wiser and more rational than Ash, to control the boy in the same way.

"So, Ash," Giovanni finally said, "what are your impressions of your first full tour of duty?"

Ash drew in a deep breath. He had to choose his words carefully. "It was… well it was very different to anything I've experienced before, sir," he finally said. Giovanni's expression did not change. "Certainly I wasn't aware that there was so much… violence being directed against the organisation."

Giovanni shrugged slightly. "We are outlaws, Ash," he reminded his nephew. "We must expect the opposition of society in general. Now I think there is something particularly on your mind."

"We were both very uncomfortable with the more aggressive missions," Misty interrupted, her expression firm.

Ash shot her a grateful look. "Misty is right, Boss," he added. "Self defence is fine by us, but terrorising random civilians struck us as being pointless."

"So," Giovanni purred dangerously, "you dislike my strategy and tactics, do you, hmm?" He watched the two young people move ever so slightly back in fear, but they did not back down and they did not relent. Ash took a moment to gather himself before meeting his gaze fearlessly. The message was clear. They had said what they said, and that was the only meaning their words had. "It might surprise you to learn that there is a reason behind everything we do, Ash, Misty," Giovanni said severely. "As junior agents, you neither have the security clearance or the _need_ to know these higher reasons, do you understand?" Silence. "_Do you understand?_" Giovanni repeated more loudly.

Ash swallowed and Misty paled perceptibly. But still they did not relent. Giovanni sternly fought down a smile of glee. This was better than he had hoped. "I understand your discomfort," he suddenly announced. "And I note the risks you took to minimise injuries and damage to property while still meeting your mission objectives. I suppose I should really discipline you both for this." He smirked at the look of anger and determination on Ash's face. "But I will not, because I expected you to do that. You have performed exactly to my expectations."

Ash did not know whether he was relieved or annoyed. He was glad that he, and more importantly Misty, were not facing punishment, but it irked him somewhat that the Boss saw them as being predictable.

"Terror Raids are an ancient tool of the insurgent," Giovanni reminded them. "I will not be so trite or so unfeeling to suggest that we are doing this for those people's own good. However, I will remind you both that we are at war. And sometimes, when at war, you must do things that are both distressing and immoral. It is unfortunate, but it is also necessary." Giovanni studied the two young people carefully. He saw the scepticism on Misty's face clearly. "And yes, Misty, that is an extremely hollow-sounding justification, but it also remains true. We must fight with all the weapons at our disposal, including that of terror. Remember that the Allies bombed civilian populations with weapons up to nuclear level to break the morale of the German and Japanese nations in the second Great War of the last century, all in the name of freedom and democracy."

Ash and Misty looked at each other uncomfortably. It was obvious that they had never considered what was happening in those terms. Giovanni was glad that they understood this paradox, but simultaneously felt bad for destroying another bit of their innocence. "It never is an easy choice of black or white, is it?" Ash asked in a depressed tone.

Giovanni shook his head regretfully and sighed. "I don't expect you to understand all these… burdens, and why such dark avenues are necessary at once. You are both still young, and such bitter wisdom only comes with time. If, however, you still feel the need to actively abhor such necessities, do what I do, and ensure that every ruined life and every death accuses you day and night." Ash and Misty were shocked at the bitter tone of self-accusation in Giovanni's voice. "Be glad you are but foot soldiers, my young friends," he said. "Understanding the greater pattern can only make your nightmares that bit more vivid."

There was a sombre silence as the two young agents digested Giovanni's words. Giovanni, meanwhile had to fight hard to calm himself. He hadn't intended to put so much passion in his words, and had not intended to reveal so much of his own doubts and anguish to them, but it was done. 

Still, the point was he had established that Ash and Misty were not content simply to tamely follow orders, but were ready to start improvising and developing their own tactics that better suited them. That was what Giovanni had hoped. "Now," he said after a moment, "back to the subject at hand. Given your excellent performance in your first tour of duty, I have decided that the time has come to give you a more wide-ranging assignment where your unique skills and temperament can be used to the full."

Giovanni leaned back and pulled a file folder out of his 'pending' tray and handed it to Ash. "Your new assignment is to a previously-vacant operational slot on the Seashell Coast in between Seafoam City and Cerulean City. This area is well known for its plant- earth- and water-type Pokémon and is frequently visited by large groups of Novices. Your duties are to, as far and to the extent you judge necessary, to provide a Team Rocket presence in the area. You will ensure that all those in the area are aware of our cause and realise that it is we who are the arbiters of what happens in Indigo and its' surrounding islands. Do you understand?"

__

More of the same, in other words, Ash thought sourly. Still, this was his chance to prove that there was an alternative to brutality and intimidation. He would not screw this up. "I understand, sir," he said.

"Who will be our team leaders?" Misty asked. _Please, God, don't make us report to Butch and Cassidy_, she pleaded silently.

Giovanni smiled with an air of sadism. "Why, haven't you guessed yet?" he asked brightly.

***

Jessie and James were eating a mixed salad with lots of a fiery paprika spice that James had once loudly declared was from decommissioned napalm munitions. Friday was vegetarian dish day at the main cafeteria, and this was the only dish either of them found palatable. Meowth, as a Pokémon, was exempt from the human menu, and was enjoying a broiled tuna fish.

"I've never wanted to be a Pokémon so much in my life," James whined as he drooled at Meowth's rations.

"Hey, hands off," Meowth growled, "dis is mine!" The cat was usually friendly, but he forgot all about friendship when it came to food.

Jessie sighed and tried a bit of the bland salad. The paprika was the only thing that made it edible, but every mouthful had to be diluted by a glass of water and yet still she wanted to scream. "I have always thought of vegetarian Friday as a way the Boss keeps us disciplined," she said with a sigh. She reached under the table and grabbed James in a tender spot. His quiet yelp and the way he almost fell out of his chair made her feel a lot better.

Suddenly, two new white-uniformed field agents walked in. There were always new faces when you were rotated back to HQ, so Jessie didn't pay any special attention until she realised that she _knew_ these two. "James," she hissed. "Look!"

James turned and gasped. An unreadable Ash Ketchum and a very self-conscious looking Misty Waterflower were resplendent in new white uniforms. "I don't believe it!" James spluttered. "One lousy tour and they get promoted! How long have we waited, Jess?"

"Too long," Jessie replied gently. She was not angry, oddly enough, but rueful. She had known in her heart that this would happen. Ash and Misty were a phenomenon and were, indeed, on the way to the stars above, while she and James were condemned to a life as foot sloggers. "Don't be jealous, James," she counselled. "They deserve this."

James sighed reluctantly, but he had to agree. At that point, Ash saw them and came over. "I suppose congratulations are in order," James said. "Or is it commiserations?"

Ash shrugged. "Two parts of one and three parts of the other," Ash said. "It looks like leave is off for us, at least. The Boss is putting us through a _very_ truncated command class and then is sticking us back in the field late next week."

Jessie raised her eyebrow in surprise as Misty continued. "We have just enough time to grab a sandwich and a drink before we have to be at our first session, so we've go to love you and leave you. See ya."

Jessie and James watched the two younger agents walk off. Even Meowth had stopped eating because he was so surprised. "There isn't any such thing as a 'truncated command class,'" James protested weakly.

"Until now," Jessie replied. Something was wrong. The Boss never treated agents like this. Even star performers, like they themselves in their younger days, had to complete a six week Command and Field Operations Management course when promoted to the White Teams. And it was standard procedure that an agent rotated back from the field received a minimum of two weeks leave. Cancelling leave and reducing the C&FOM course to one week for agents fresh back from their first tour was unprecedented and alarming. "Something is up," Jessie predicted. "Something to do with them, James. I am convinced that the Boss has big plans for them and I wonder if they will like what he has in mind."

***

About a week later, Ash and Misty were in the office of Mondo Jones, senior. This time, they were not young neophytes about to receive their first assignments, but newly-qualified team leaders, ready to depart on an open-ended tour of duty.

Through a two-way mirror, Giovanni watched them closely for any sign of uncertainty. He was increasingly aware of the incredible risk he was taking in pushing Ash and Misty so hard. So much, so very much depended on them. There was little time remaining and he had to get these new pieces in place as quickly as possible. However, there was the risk of overwhelming them if he moved _too_ fast. 

Not for the first time, Giovanni found himself resenting his brother for having escaped these responsibilities. Giovanni had never wanted to be a leader. _Christ, John,_ he thought to himself, _you are getting paranoid. Joe did _not_ get himself killed just so you would have to take over from Mom and suffer in his place._

"Finally," Mondo said, "let me introduce your team." The door opened and four young people walked in. The first were two black-uniformed junior agents, followed by a green uniformed medic and a grey-uniformed technician. "Firstly, you back-ups. This is Charles Reilly and Naomi Athena." 

Ash narrowed his eyes in what he considered a good 'commander' pose and examined the two Black Rockets thoughtfully. Charles was slightly shorter than Ash but had a similar muscular build. He had a wide, open and honest face, green eyes and dark hair with faint red streaks. He looked about Ash's age, and had the general demeanour of a veteran. Something told Ash that he was going to be fun to have around and probably would be a formidable fighter too.

Naomi was diminutive to the point of being elfin. She had long blonde hair that was parted along the centre at the front and hung down her back to waist level. She looked incredibly nervous and her smile was more than a little forced. She couldn't be more than 13 years old.

"And your support team. This is Second Technician Buddy Winters and Medic 1st Class Holly Travis."

Raichu, who had been riding on Ash' shoulders, smiled and waved at the newcomers. "Rai-chu-ai-chu-aichu-rai!" [Pleased to meet you all!] he chirped.

Raichu's friendly greeting helped Ash decide he wanted to drop the traditional 'commander' image. He stepped forward with a warm smile. "Good to meet you," he said. "I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Misty Waterflower. I'm sure you are nervous. Well so are we, so the sooner we admit that to each other, the sooner we can begin helping each other."

Charles and Naomi looked at each other in shock. Openness from a White Team Leader? Surely this was some kind of trap!

"Don't talk much, do they?" Misty asked with a laugh. "Come on, you four, we are going to spend the next few years pretty much trapped in each other's company, so we might as well get used to each other now."

Naomi swallowed and finally offered Ash her hand. "Pleased to meet you, sir," she said quietly. "May I say it is a pleasure to be working with such heroes of the cause?"

Ash blushed and Misty hid a laugh behind her hand. "Thanks," Ash said quietly. "I'm probably guessing, but this is your first assignment, isn't it?" Naomi nodded, her face pale. "All right," Ash said kindly, "the most important thing to remember is this: It's okay to be scared. If you can accept fear, you can fight it."

Naomi nodded, still a bit stiff, but relaxing slightly. She offered her hand to Misty, who used it to draw the girl close for a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Naomi," Misty said gently.

"Charles Reilly," Charles said. "Call me 'Rocketboy!'"

Ash tried not to laugh. "Only if you call me 'Ash,'" he replied. "I think there is no room for protocol in the field."

Rocketboy nodded and shook Ash's hand. He shook Misty's hand and looked at the way she and Ash were standing together. "Oh sir… uh… I mean, Ash," he said, "um… I worked with Butch and Cassidy once… er…"

"Yes Rocketboy?" Ash asked with a sigh.

"Are you the ones they called 'The Twerps?'"

Naomi leaned back, expecting Ash to kill Rocketboy on the spot. To her surprise Ash started laughing. "Team Twerp," he gasped in between laughs, "do you remember that, Misty? It is what them, Jessie and James used to call us… and… Brock…" Ash suddenly stopped laughing as a pain he thought he had overcome suddenly jumped forward and bit him hard.

Misty put a hand on her lover's shoulder, her expression sad. "Easy, Ash," she said gently.

Rocketboy, feeling he had overstepped the limits, stepped back fearfully. Ash grabbed him by the arm. "You are not going to be frightened," Ash snapped. "We all have old hurts in this game, Rocketboy. All of us. But if you have any information that you think is relevant, no matter how much you think it might upset Misty or me, I want to hear about it, do you understand?"

Rocketboy nodded in relief. Misty smiled at him and shook his hand professionally. "I am going to enjoy working with a veteran," she announced. "I should warn you, however, that our style is _very_ different from Butch and Cassidy's." From his expression, Ash could tell that Rocketboy felt that this was good news.

"And hello Buddy and Holly," Ash said, greeting his support team. "I hope you are both ready for a lot of action. Misty and I are very hard on equipment and personnel."

Buddy was a tall, almost painfully thin man with black hair. He looked nervous at Ash's camaraderie. Holly was as tall as Buddy but more generously proportioned. Ash had a strange feeling of déjà vu when he looked at the way she had plaited her long blonde hair. _Of course_, he thought, _that is the way Nurse Joy always has her hair done!_ Both of them were in their twenties at least.

Misty noticed too, she grinned at Ash and joined him in greeting Buddy and Holly.

Mondo grinned at the way Ash and Misty had gone about starting their team building. Ah, it reminded him of the great days when Joe and Miyamoto Ketchum were still alive. Perhaps those golden days of Team Rocket were returning.

"So," Ash said, turning to Mondo, "when are we scheduled to go?"

Mondo was surprised. "Not for at least three hours, Ash," he replied.

"Good!" Ash said, rubbing his hands. "This gives us all a chance to get to know each other. Firstly I want to have you two in the Practice Halls," Ash pointed at Charles and Naomi. "I want to see how you handle your assigned Pokémon. After all, you are going to be capturing a lot more before the end of this tour. Then, I think we should all head down to the recreation dome and get to know each other."

Misty grinned. "Watch out," she said, "he cheats at chess. I don't know how, but he does."

Ash rolled his eyes. "You will learn very quickly that my girlfriend here is a heartless tease," he announced.

The four juniors looked at each other in surprise _Girlfriend?_ They all thought. As a matter of policy, Team Rocket forbade liaisons between agents. Ash smiled at their surprise, a smile echoed by Giovanni in his hidden observation room. In the field, close, even intimate relationships were inevitable. Frankly, no one cared about them unless it started affecting the team's efficiency.

Misty punched Ash lightly on the shoulder. "I am not your girlfriend, Ketchum," she said forbiddingly. "You are _my_ boyfriend and don't you forget it."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ash replied. He gestured for the others to precede him out. "So," Ash said conversationally to Naomi, "which Pokémon have the stuffed shirts in Quartermaster Stores issued you?"

The team walked out without first asking Mondo's permission. Mondo just stared, not knowing how to react to such insubordination. Giovanni grinned. _Perfect_, he thought. _Just the right attitude to have: 'There is nothing we can't do!' _The junior members of the team all looked very confused, but they were clearly relaxing around their new commanders. Mondo rolled his eyes and shrugged helplessly at Giovanni. Safely hidden from all eyes, the Boss was laughing his head off.

***

Giovanni's face was unreadable as he watched Team White November's Air Transport head off to the north. "They are going to do well, aren't they Mondo?" he asked, sounding more than a little nervous.

"I don't know how they do it," Mondo said, "but those other four seem ready to die for them already and they haven't known them more than a few hours."

Giovanni nodded. He hoped his lieutenant was right. So much, so very, very much rode on Ash and Misty's shoulders.

***

Violet Waterflower was in tears as she sat in her quarters at the Cascade Gym. Her younger sister, Lily, heard her weeping and walked in. "Jeez, Vi," she said. "Like, what's wrong?"

"Daisy," Violet sobbed. "She is, like, the most awful bitch sometimes."

Lily rolled her eyes. The two eldest Waterflower girls had been increasingly at odds ever since Daisy married Gary Oak a year ago. "What happened now?" she asked.

"She won't listen!" Violet blurted. "I told her that the girl flying that Team Rocket blimp was definitely Misty and she started shouting at me! Me!" Violet started crying again and Lily sat down next to her and tried to comfort her.

"Vi, Misty is dead," she said gently. "Move on."

"You didn't see her eyes," Violet said gently. "If you had, you wouldn't be so sure."

Lily sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. Violet had always been closest to Misty. Her death four years ago in Viridian Forest, less than ten minutes from home, had hit her hard. "Vi," she said, "I know you want her to be alive. So do I, but you've got to face the fact she's gone. That… impostor from Team Rocket is not our baby sister."

Violet quieted down for a moment. She looked up at her sister with an angry expression. "That is exactly what Daisy says," she hissed. "Which means, like, that is exactly what Gary says. Daisy doesn't think for herself, Lil. It is beginning to sound like you don't either."

Lily rocked back and had to restrain herself from slapping her sister. "I am _not_ anything like Daisy," she snapped. "Our big sister might do and think whatever that grinning monster of hers tells her to do and think, but I _don't_!"

"Then listen!" Violet urged. "Lil, it was Misty! I know it! The way she looked and moved, the look in her eyes as she saw me… Lil, she acknowledged me… she actually said she loves me! I… I don't understand why an impostor would go to such lengths!" 

Lily was shocked at the incredible tone of lingering horror in Violet's voice. That raid on the League Headquarters all those weeks ago must have really shaken her up. "Vi…" she began.

"Lily, I'm no idiot," Violet insisted. "I would know our sister if I saw her. It is her, Lil. She's alive. Like, she's one of Team Rocket now, but she and Ash are both alive!"

"But why would Gary and Daisy lie?" Lily asked helplessly.

"I don't know," Violet said. She drew in a deep breath and stood up. "But I am going to find out."

Lily stepped back in surprise. "Like, what are you talking about?"

"I'm going to find Misty and get her to tell me what is going on," Violet said in a determined tone. "I don't care how long it takes, but I am going to find her even if I have to knock down the door to Team Rocket's headquarters to do it!" Violet walked across the room. She pulled her travelling jacket out of her wardrobe and he Pokébelt with her six favourite Pokémon, including the Psyduck that once had belonged to Misty.

"You… you're crazy," Lily said. "Like, what is Daisy going to say?"

"She doesn't care," Violet said. "She told me that if I am so certain she is alive, maybe I should go to Misty and stay out of _her _hair."

Lily shook her head, that sounded like Daisy all right. "All right, I'm coming with you," she said in resignation.

"What?" Violet couldn't believe her ears.

"Like, if Daisy is so dumb she won't even listen, you've got to check this out," Lily explained. "And I'm coming, because, even if Daisy doesn't care about you, I do."

Violet ran over and hugged her sister. Within an hour they were gone. Lily was right about one thing. Daisy didn't care very much.

***

Ash looked around the beach-front building that was the visible part of the new base… no… _his_ base on the long rocky Seashell Coast near Seafoam City. From here he would spread terror and confusion to all the locals, and may God have mercy on his soul, because his conscience certainly would not. Giovanni might have been right about the strategic use of terror, but it _didn't_ make him feel any better.

As he looked around him, the team was settling in. "Seashell Base to Ketchum," Misty said with a laugh. Ash looked around to see Misty. 

She had… changed her uniform. It was a hell of a lot tighter than the one she had worn after they had first been promoted. It highlighted her… attributes in a way that made Ash come out in a cold sweat. Completely unexpectedly, she had cut out the middle of her body suit, just like Jessie had suggested before, exposing most of her waist. Her service .357" Magnum semi-auto was in a back-draw holster on her left hip, and her Pokébelt was somehow at a very provocative angle. Misty laughed when she saw his expression. "Good, that's the effect I was hoping for."

"I… I thought you weren't interested in this sort of thing," Ash stammered.

Misty laughed easily. "We're leading now, Ash," she said. "We've got to remember that we have to make a _psychological_ impact as well as a literal one." She ran her hands over Ash's modified uniform, with its close-cut body suit and the open jacket-like tunic Ash found gave him flexibility in battle. "Besides, why should you be the only one to have a hot uniform?" she purred.

Ash shook his head. "Well, it has had an impact on me if nothing else," he said with a rueful smile. "You are hereby elevated to 'Ash's wildest fantasy.'"

Misty grinned and winked. "I always knew I was, big guy."

Ash shook his head. "I have fallen in love with Jessie's long-lost kid sister," he told himself. He looked around the hanger cavern again. "Okay, people!" he shouted out. "Let's pick it up! We've got a job to do!"

__

To be continued…

   [1]: mailto:BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk



	3. Shades of Grey

Team Rocket Neo - Part 3 **__**

Team Rocket Neo

A Pokémon nightmare by [BenRG][1]

****

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all technologies of the Pokémon universe are the legal property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Productions. No violation of any legal property intended. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet.

****

Author's Notes

Please re-read the first three parts. I have cleared up some continuity errors and generally tightened them up. 

Believe me, Ash and Misty are going to be _very_ OOC. After four years of stealing and roughing up Team Rocket's enemies, you should expect it.

Shades of grey alert. There are no heroes in this story, only those who are slightly less bad than others. Sometimes the price of survival is a lot higher than people expect.

Text in [Squared Brackets] is translated Pokémon talk.

Text in _Italics_, but not in quotes is thought or telepathic communication.

Text in "_Quotes and Italics_" is a communication by radio or videophone.

****

Censor: R for violence and swearing

Ages: Ash is 18; Misty is 18; Rocketboy is 17; Naomi is 13; Buddy is 28; Holly is 24; Giovanni is 40; Gary is 20; Daisy is 26; Brock is 26; Violet is 24; Lily is 21.

CONTENT WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH. Graphic description of one particular death and implied sexual activity. 

****

What has gone before…

Four years have passed since Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower, victims of a brutal betrayal by their family and those they considered their friends, were forced to seek shelter with the terrorist group Team Rocket. They have spent this time growing in their terrorist skills and developing their own fearsome reputation amongst the law enforcement agencies of the Indigo region.

Now, promoted to the leadership of their own Field Team, Ash and Misty must face the ultimate truth of the path they chose freely four years before. How far are they willing to go in the service of Team Rocket? And do they have any other options open to them?

****

Part 3 – Shades of Grey

__

Chapter 1 – Compromises

"Ash this is the single dumbest stunt you've ever pulled," was Misty Waterflower's opinion. Ash turned from where he was slopping paint on the Founder's Memorial in the centre of Cerulean City's Founders Park.

"Well it was this or our conducting a raid on the Pokémon Centre," he reminded his lover and second-in-command. "Which would you prefer?"

Misty sighed deeply and went back to her own act of vandalism on another side of the four-sided obelisk. It was true that Ash had worked hard to find an alternative to the usual violent opening move for a new Team Rocket cell, but Misty felt there should be more to the Cause than this. Somehow, it felt… childish. Ash had been worried, Misty knew, about the inevitable compromises he would have to make now that The Boss had promoted them to their own field operations team. For all its' lack of elegance, this particular idea was enough to satisfy both their oaths to Team Rocket and their consciences.

The two Rockets were almost invisible in the night; their white Field Agents' uniforms invisible behind three-tone-grey camouflage smocks. Most of Misty's doubts were because she felt a little exposed in the middle of the park. However, she knew Ash was a fine tactician and that he had all of the bases covered.

Officer Jenny Wyle of the Cerulean City Security Police walked into Memorial Square and could only stare at the two figures, virtually invisible in their camouflage, who were clearly daubing paint on the Founders' Memorial. Cerulean City did not have much of a vandalism problem, and especially not _here_, in the most historically important spot in the city. The sheer _strangeness_ of the situation stopped her from radioing for back up immediately. "Hey!" she called in a half-hearted tone of amazement. "Get away from there!"

"Shh!" hissed a voice from behind her. Jenny whirled to see a man and a girl watching her from the shadow of the bandstand. The man was heavily built with dark hair. The girl was short with long blonde hair and a very nervous posture. However, the red capital letter 'R' on the tunics of their paramilitary uniforms attracted Jenny's eyes and kicked her brain into gear. It was… Team Rocket! She reached for her service pistol.

"Sinuous, Sleeper Hold!" The man said in a confident tone.

Something long and alive arced towards Jenny with a hissing cry of "Ek-ansss!" Jenny screamed in terror as the Ekans wrapped around her neck and squeezed tightly. The creature hung on as Jenny fell to her knees. She struggled hysterically to loosen the poison-type's crushing grip for ten long seconds before lack of oxygen sent her tumbling into the darkness.

Black Rockets Charles 'Rocketboy' Reilly and Naomi Athena stood over the fallen Security Police officer. "Where did you learn that move?" Naomi asked in awe.

"Late Night Wrestling," Rocketboy replied casually. "You would be surprised what you can pick up late at night in the Recreation Dome."

Naomi snorted sceptically and lifted her walkie-talkie. "Back Stop to Vanguard. One party pooper down, over."

"_Roger that, Back Stop,_" Ash's voice crackled from the speaker. "_Dead or sleeping?_"

Perhaps it was Naomi's imagination, but she thought she could hear a little concern in her team leader's voice. "Definitely sleeping, Boss. She'll ache in the morning, but she will wake up."

By the obelisk, Misty watched as Ash sagged with relief when he heard Naomi's report. She reached out and touched his shoulder. Eventually, they both knew, they would have to face that challenge. Fortunately, it had not come tonight. "That's good, Back Stop," Ash said into his walkie-talkie. "Get the Carrier ready to go. We've finished here."

"_Yes sir_," Naomi replied and disconnected.

Ash drew in a deep breath and managed to shoot Misty a mischievous grin. "You know, I would give a lot of money to see people's faces tomorrow," he told her.

Misty grinned wryly. "I'm more interested to see _how_ they react," she replied. "I'm not sure The Boss would approve of this level of initiative."

"Do you care?" Ash wanted to know. Misty just chuckled and shook her head. No, so long as Ash could keep them from sinking too far, she didn't care what Giovanni thought at all. The two White Rockets left the Memorial and went to join their backups at their Armoured Personnel Carrier, which was camouflaged as an Arcanine. Within an hour, they were back at their base.

***

Officer Jenny was _very_ surprised to wake up with the dawn sun glaring in her eyes. She groggily got to her feet and rubbed the aching bruises around her throat. _I should be dead, _she thought in surprise. _Why didn't they finish me?_

These questions had to wait. A large crowd was standing around the Founders' Memorial obelisk. There were sounds of outrage and confusion. Jenny staggered to her feet and walked over to the confused crowd. "What…" she began hoarsely. She coughed and tried again, but her voice wasn't much easier to understand. "What's going on?"

Seeing the Security Police officer, the crowds separated and gave her a clear path to the monument set up in remembrance of the colonists who founded Cerulean City half a century before. On each face of the mighty obelisk, someone had painted a bright emblem. It was a red hoop with a stylised red capital letter 'R' in the centre, the emblem of Team Rocket. Jenny was no fool. This wasn't just an act of vandalism; it was a statement of intent.

***

That morning, a group of Novice Trainers was working their way through the forest. They had recently begun their Pokémon Journey from nearby Viridian City. They still were nervous about being out in the forest of their own. Two of them had only two Pokémon to their names, thus far, and one had three.

"I still say that my Charmander is better against plant-types than your Dratini, Sara," Danny Morrison told the girl who had joined up with him and Jace Dillon without their permission.

"Oh right," Sara Wade replied with a scornful laugh, "the only problem is that you incinerate them instead of knocking them out. That is why _I_ caught me an Oddish and you only have a pile of ash."

Danny looked away with a deep, resentful scowl. If there was one thing that he hated more than being wrong, it was being wrong and that… that _girl_ being right. "Jace, what do you think?" he asked, appealing to his best friend.

The taller boy with his ginger hair in a ponytail laughed. "Don't get me involved, man," he said. "I'm sticking to bug-types." He patted the Pokéballs containing his Caterpie, Kakuna and one of the newly discovered Eightlegz (a spider-like Pokémon). He was the first Trainer on Indigo to capture one of these, and he was immensely proud of that fact.

Suddenly, Sara stopped and sniffed the air. "Guys," she said quietly, "do you smell something?"

From the bushes, a ragged figure watched the three young Novices with an expression that you could best describe as 'ravenous.' Once… once he had a name. He could recall _that_ clearly enough, even if the actual name escaped him. He remembered that he also once had a purpose, dreams and friends to take his part. All that was gone now, leaving behind only pain and a remorse that he could not understand, but kept him praying for the oblivion of death. 

His desire to escape wasn't so great, however, that he was willing to starve. He had been tracking this group of novices for a day now in the hope he could scavenge scraps after their next meal. Now he paused uncertainly as all three stopped and began to sniff the air, wrinkling their nose at whatever they could smell. _Uh oh… what if it is… me?_

"Yuck!" Sara shouted, jumping back as she spotted the hairy being in the trees. "What is that?"

"He's no kind of Pokémon, that I know," Danny replied.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think he's human," Jace commented wryly.

"Please… please don't be afraid," the man said, rising up to his impressive full height. "I… I'm hungry," the man announced in a strange way. It was almost as if he wasn't used to talking. "I can't remember the last time I ate a decent meal… Please, can I have any spare food you might have?" It was difficult to see his face through the tangled beard and long hair. He was wearing the much-patched remains of a pair of blue jeans and a green tee shirt. There was also what looked like a tan or orange body warmer with pockets down the front. It was difficult to tell, though, because it was all so badly damaged. 

Danny's face twisted with disgust as he looked at the derelict. "Tell it to a charity worker, pal," he snapped. "I'm not risking getting some disease by letting you get closer." Danny picked up a rock and threw it at the ragged figure. "Get out of here! Go on, get out or I'll set my Ghastly on ya!" While Sara looked on in a kind of horror and Jace grinned in malice, Danny threw a few more rocks at the retreating figure, shouting abuse.

The man fled through the woods, the branches tearing at his already almost-destroyed clothing. Strangely, though, his thoughts were somewhere else. _Rock… _he thought to himself in puzzlement, _once_ _that was important to me somehow… but why?_ It could have been a start, but his hunger and his broken mind conspired against him. Instead of thinking on the puzzle, he instead began to look for a fruit tree or bush to raid.

***

"_The damage caused by these villains has provoked fury throughout the City and County of Cerulean_," the TV reporter said grimly. "_A group of outraged citizens are lobbying the City Council to take action to remove them from the area immediately._"

"For God's sake, it is _paint_," Ash shouted at the TV. "Don't scream and shout, just give some parking violators a few bottles of white spirit to wash it off!"

Ash's mock outrage at the TV report of their redecoration of the Cerulean City Founders' Memorial made Naomi giggle. Ash was sitting on the couch with Misty, looking _very_ comfortable, tucked up beside him. Rocketboy was sitting on a tall wooden chair. Naomi was perched on the back of the easy chair. Buddy the technician and Holly the medic had also made an appearance to watch the TV coverage of Team White November's first operation.

"'Remove them from the area!' They're talking like we're a rat infestation or something," Misty added with a genuine and happy laugh.

"If they respond this way to us painting the sigil on their monument, how will they react when we _really _start doing damage?" Rocketboy wanted to know.

Ash smiled, but Misty could see that it was a hollow smile. _When we really start doing damage_. That was something Ash dreaded, but knew he could not avoid. More than ever before he knew what Misty said to him once before was right. The moment they realised that Team Rocket was their only remaining hope, then they had sold their souls and there was no turning back.

"Hopefully we will be nice and discreet and they won't realise," Ash announced.

"Nice and _discreet_?" Rocketboy blurted.

Misty laughed. "You've worked with Butch and Cassidy too long," she commented. "The best way to achieve objectives is to work from the shadows." She sat up straighter and shot Rocketboy a look that conveyed conviction and certainty. "We _could_ just go on a rampage, but it will make it a lot more difficult to actually achieve anything."

"You always can tell when they are fresh out of Command Class," Rocketboy told a surprised Naomi. 

Suddenly, there was a loud 'bleep.' A flashing 'R' icon appeared on the TV screen. "Communication coming in," Naomi said unnecessarily. There was a long pause while four comfortable people engaged in a battle of wills. 

After Misty pinched his arm, Ash grunted and got up. "Okay," he said in an annoyed tone. "I'll get it."

***

Ash completed the usual decrypting protocols for a live audio/video transmission and then sat back. To his surprise, the person on the screen wasn't a duty communications officer at Headquarters. It was Giovanni himself. Ash sat up straighter. "Uh, afternoon Boss," he said nervously.

"_Hello Ash_," Giovanni said neutrally. "_I saw your little redecoration of the Founders' Memorial on the TV news. A most… unusual opening operation._" Ash tried to read the Boss's expression, but his poker face was perfect. Still, if he were angry he would have said so. Ash briefly thought about defending his decision, but thought better of it. Giovanni could read his report like everyone else. "_Now you've got settled in, what is your next move?_" Giovanni asked.

"The usual stuff," Ash said evasively. Giovanni quirked an eyebrow and Ash decided that he wanted details. "Mostly what you would expect. We'll start reconnoitring all the local Breeding Centres, drop in on some travelling Novices, just so they know we are here, and keep our ears open for any word of unusual or rare Pokémon in the area."

"_No raid on the Pokémon Centre planned yet?_" Giovanni wanted to know.

Ash licked his lips uncertainly. Well, he had made the decision and he wasn't going to apologise for it. If Giovanni wanted to know… "No sir," Ash confirmed. Giovanni raised that expressive eyebrow again. "The Pokémon Centre is something of a holy ground to most Trainers, as you know. If we violate that convention too easily, it will just harden their attitude against Team Rocket and its' operations. I want, as far as possible, to ensure people don't just view us as bad guys. After all, we aren't really."

Giovanni's face was still unreadable and Ash didn't know whether the man approved, disapproved or just didn't care. "_Well, it is your theatre of operations,_" he finally said. "_You should proceed as you see fit_." Giovanni touched a button out of Ash's view and the image of someone who looked somewhat like Ash, but had a lighter build and brown hair, replaced that of The Boss. "_Richard Yeager_," Giovanni announced. "_He is in your area right now. He has the most incredibly well-trained Charizard._"

"Yes sir, I know," Ash said uncertainly. "He calls him 'Zippo,' if I remember correctly."

"_Yes, I know you were associates once_," Giovanni confirmed. The image on the screen blinked back to Giovanni's face. "_That Charizard knows attacks and defences unlike any other_," Giovanni continued. "_That is why I want you to claim it for Team Rocket._"

There was a long silence. Ash felt a massive agony in his chest. He looked down and saw that his hands were shaking. "I'm sorry sir," Ash said gently, his voice toneless, "have you assigned us to… _steal_ that Pokémon from his Trainer?"

"_Yes that's right_," Giovanni said, his voice suddenly laced with menace. "_Do you have a problem with this assignment that I should be aware of, Mr. Ketchum?_"

Ash swallowed dryly. "No sir, none at all," he replied.

"_Then I await your report of your success_," Giovanni said. There was a brief musical bleep and the screen blinked off.

Ash sat back and felt sick to the core. The blood roared in his ears and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. _I always knew this day would come_, he thought hopelessly, _but I never guessed it would affect a friend._ Tears began to run down his cheeks. Ash staggered to his feet and began to pace restlessly around the communications bunker. He had to think of something, think of a way to _seem_ to do his job without actually doing it.

Misty chose that moment to join Ash. "What's up, Ash?" she asked easily. She noticed the torment in Ash's eyes immediately and the way his arms and legs were shaking. "God! What's wrong?"

Ash had to draw in a deep breath before explaining. "We… we've just received our first special assignment, Misty," he said. Misty's face clouded and she waited for Ash to continue. "We've got to steal someone's Pokémon."

Misty sighed and shook her head. "Well, we always knew that we would have to do an up-close-and-personal theft eventually," she said quietly.

"Yes," Ash said quietly. He swallowed convulsively before continuing. "It is the 'who' that hurts, Misty. We've got to kidnap Richie's Charizard, Zippo."

Misty's mouth dropped open and she shook her head in disbelief. Ash saw her mouth just one word: 'No.' He nodded mournfully and helped her to sit down before she fell down. "I… I'm trying to figure a way around this," he explained, "but I'm not getting very far."

"There's got to be a way," Misty insisted. "Jessie and James faked trying to kidnap Raichu while he was still a Pikachu for three years!"

Ash sighed and shook his head. "I talked to Jessie about that," he said. "She had the feeling that Giovanni _wanted_ me to keep Pikachu. Who knows why?" Ash didn't mention that Giovanni once claimed to be his uncle. That first waking moment, four years distant now, had the unreal nature of a dream, and he didn't want to start basing his strategy on such a strange possibility. Ash saw Misty watching him worriedly and snapped back to 'here and now.' "Anyway, I didn't see any room for compromise here, Misty. He actually seemed angry, _really_ angry for the first time I can remember, when I hesitated for a second."

Misty had begun to cry and Ash hugged her and tried to comfort her. It was difficult, as he really wanted to be comforted himself. "Ash," she sobbed, "we… we can't do this."

Ash held on to her. "We'll run, then," he said. "We'll change into some civvies, grab our Pokémon and run to the very ends of the Earth."

Misty looked up into his eyes. "And go where, Ash?" she asked. "Everyone thinks that the 'real' Ash and Misty are dead. We're wanted criminals now, so we can't go anywhere near a town or a city without risking arrest… We can't live as fugitives forever!"

Ash felt a spasm of pain and of hatred for Professor Oak, who more than anyone else did, had made this exile to hell possible. "That old man closed off every door," he muttered. "He made sure that we would have no one to turn to."

"Yes," Misty whispered, "he was so careful…"

FLASHBACK – FOUR YEARS PREVIOUSLY 

There were many things Flint Slate expected when the doorbell of the Gym Leader's residence rang first thing that morning, but two young people in the uniform of Team Rocket were not among them. Flint could only stand there and boggle as the two young terrorists grinned up at him nervously. "Mr. Slate, you probably don't remember me," the boy said. "My name is Ash Ketchum."

__

But I do remember you, lad, Flint thought. _Only it is impossible for you to be here… you're _dead_!_ Flint took a step back. "Who are you really?" he asked angrily.

"I know it's hard for you to believe, sir," Ash said, "but I'm alive. I've come because we need your help!"

Flint shook his head and looked at the black-haired boy with a Pikachu and the ginger-haired girl with a Togepi. They were the utter spitting images of Ash and Misty, of that there was no doubt.

"Sir, we need your help," Misty said. "We're desperate and we don't have anyone else to turn to!"

Well, never let it be said that a Slate ignored a female in peril. "All right," he said, "you'd better come in. But no funny stuff, I've got my Pokébelt on and I am good enough to handle you!"

__

Unlikely, Ash thought, and dismissed the thought from his mind.

***

An hour later, Flint and his guests were in the kitchen. The Pewter City Gym Leader was staring at his hands in horror as Ash and Misty completed the story of their betrayal and how they ended up in the hands of Team Rocket. "So we decided that we should try to let _someone_ know we are all right," Ash concluded. "My mother has disappeared, Misty's sisters are too close to Daisy for us to risk it and…" Ash sighed and wiped the eyes with his arm. "And no one else that we _thought _were our friends are anything of the kind."

"Brock… betrayed you," Flint grated. His mind couldn't get past that horrific accusation. It was on this that the pair's story stood or fell. "Why?"

"I wish I knew," Ash said. That made his story minutely more credible in Flint's eyes. If the boy had an elaborate explanation, that would be suspicious. However, this confusion and helpless pain was the mark of either an amateur con artist or the real article. "He _said_ that he felt we were no friends of his and that we were holding him back... then he beat Misty so badly she nearly died. I would prefer to think it was someone altered to look like him."

Flint nodded thoughtfully. The girl, allegedly Misty Waterflower, had started crying sometime during their tale and was leaning against her friend for support. "I have to think," Flint suddenly announced. "Look, uh, help yourself to more coffee, okay?"

Ash watched him go in worry. Flint was really their last hope. None of the other Gym Leaders were close enough to them to be able to tell whether they were real or fake. Richie, A.J. and the other wandering Trainers were friends, but had no power base. Contacting them would only add them to Professor Oak's 'to kill' list. "Do you think he believes us?" Ash asked quietly.

Misty tried to pull herself together. "I… I hope so," was all she could say.

Flint returned a few minutes later. "We need to talk some more," he said. "Follow me." 

Ash and Misty rose and followed the man into the Gym. The Boulder Gym was its' usual ill-lit place with boulders and obstacles placed randomly to make challengers' lives that bit more difficult. Ash's nerves began to tingle as he watched Flint walk up to his fighting platform. The man turned and smiled at them. "You know, you two are pretty convincing," he said. "I normally wouldn't even think of believing a story like that, but you told it well."

__

Uh oh, Ash thought. This was not going well.

"You must have been desperate, or maybe just ambitious, to try to imitate two such good people for your own ends," Flint announced. "But you must have been demented if you thought you could convince me that my oldest son could do something like that," he added in a hiss. Flint's face hardened. "Unfortunately for you, Professor Oak thought to warn the UN Security Force about the possibility that Team Rocket might imitate his dead students. They passed that warning on to all Gym Leaders."

"Flint, don't you understand that this is what they _want_ you to believe," Ash said desperately. "They would say that whether this were true or false! Give us a chance and we'll do whatever it takes to convince you."

"Save your breath," Flint said quietly. He looked past Ash and Misty at the entrance to the Gym and continued in a formal tone as he turned to leave. "They're all yours gentlemen."

"Freeze!" shouted a voice. Ash and Misty spun to see a group of Peacekeepers, or simply 'PKs' members of the mercenary army controlled by the UN Governing Committee of the Pokémon Islands. Before Ash and Misty could even begin to react, the lead PK fired a Net Caster, launching a heavy steel net that dropped over them and, weighed down by the lead weights at each corner, began to tangle them.

The PKs wandered over, smirking at the ease of their victory. One of them raised his combination sub-machinegun/taser stun gun. To Ash's horror, the soldier didn't curl his finger around the trigger of the taser, but the trigger of the sub-machinegun! "Standing orders," the man said quietly, grinning sadistically. "You two are going to be killed 'resisting arrest.'" 

Ash grabbed Misty by the arm. Misty nodded and turned to Togepi. "Togepi, Telekinetic."

"Togi-priii!" the little egg-like Pokémon replied, waving his arms in time to a silent rhythm. The net rose off of the two young Rockets and dropped out of sight.

"Now, Kinetic Wave!" Misty added. Togepi generated a wall of force that flashed out and sent the PKs reeling back.

Ash turned to see Flint leap back onto the platform. "Hang on, fellas!" the Gym Leader shouted. He threw two Pokéballs. "Onyx, Golbat, I choose you!" Flint's two largest Pokémon materialised in between their Trainer and the fast-developing melee. "Golbat, use Leech to drain their Pokémon and Onyx, bind them!"

"Oh heck," Ash replied as Flint's rock snake and energy-stealing bat advanced on them. Rock types were very resistant to electricity, but earth-types like Golbat… "Pikachu, Scale!" Ash instructed. Pikachu ran forward and scaled Onyx's rocky hide, the massive animal almost tying itself in a knot as it tried to track the speedy little electric type.

"What the… Golbat, pull that rat off of Onyx," Flint ordered.

Ash risked a quick look at Misty. Bullets and taser pulses flashed off of Togepi's Psychic Shield. As Ash watched, Misty released her Team Rocket-issued Starmi.

Confident that his partner had her end of the fight under control, Ash turned back to Flint. "Pikachu, Thunder-shock on Golbat!" he ordered.

"Pika-chu-ka, Pika-pi," [Coming up, Ash,] Pikachu chattered. From his place on Onyx's back Pikachu released a powerful electrostatic discharge, which flared around Golbat as he swooped into the attack. The bat-like creature was stunned and dropped to the floor with a loud groan.

"Now, Thunder Pound!" This was an attack that Ash and his little friend had worked out between them. Pikachu leapt from his place on Onyx's back and dropped towards Golbat, simultaneously building up a powerful electrical charge. When he struck Golbat, it was with the combined force of a Pound attack and a Thunder-shock. The massive explosion of energy knocked Golbat out.

Flint froze when he saw that, though Ash didn't know why. He was too busy dealing with Onyx, who was still under orders to bind Misty and him. "Great job Pikachu. Now, return. Charmander, I choose you!"

Ash released his TR-issued Pokémon and used a series of quick fire attacks to weaken Onyx before finishing him off with a Body Slam. Still, Flint did not react, preferring to stare at Ash in horror and amazement. As he looked back, Ash would say that the Gym Leader looked like his whole world had suddenly come to an end. 

In the other direction, Misty had used a combination of Togepi's Terror attack and Starmi's Water Gun attack to drive the PKs back to the Gym entrance. "How are you doing, Misty?" Ash asked.

Misty drew in a deep breath. She shot a tormented look at Flint before turning back to her friend. "I… I'll be okay Ash. Let's just get out of here, okay?"

Ash nodded. He recalled Charmander, and released his Abra, the first Pokémon he had captured in this new beginning. "Okay Pikachu, a Stun Shock for the 'dog soldiers,'" Ash commanded. The electricity sparked around the PKs who screamed and tumbled to the floor nervelessly. It would be several seconds before they could move again. "And now Abra, Teleport."

With that, Ash and Misty fled the Boulder Gym and lost their last hope that they could reclaim their former lives. And all Flint could do was stare at the place where they stood, and weep helplessly.

END FLASHBACK 

Ash shivered as he remembered that day. He looked at his distraught lover and stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "If we won't steal Zippo, they we have to run. We don't have any other options, Misty," he warned.

Misty swallowed. "I know," she whispered. The image was clear enough in her mind. A thousand names, a thousand faces, never making friends or putting down roots; To live in fear of arrest or assassination for every day for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, she would be free, and she would have Ash. If she could have him, she could endure anything. However, she knew she wasn't the only one involved. "But… but what about the others?"

Ash grimaced. He knew the answer as well as she did. "The Boss would consider them negligent for not realising we were about to go renegade," he said in a toneless voice. "They would, at best, be demoted. But they could just as easily be disciplined, maybe even placed in detention for the rest of their lives. Worse…" Ash didn't have to continue. The ultimate sanction for incompetence was dismissal from the Team, and _no one _left Team Rocket, so 'dismissal' was the code word for 'execution.'

"We can't do it," Misty gasped through her sobs. "We can't put four other people's lives on the line."

Ash agreed, but the alternative was almost too horrible to contemplate. "Then we don't have any choice," he grated through his pain. "We have got to face Richie, and steal Zippo."

Misty began to cry again. "Oh, how did this happen? When did we take that wrong turning?" She asked through her tears. She buried her head into Ash's shoulder and her tears began to soak through his tunic. He held on and rocked her, hushing her gently. "We're lost Ash," she said, her voice desolate. "We've got nothing left. Nowhere to run, no alternatives left and no one to turn to. Nothing can save us now."

Then the tears began to flow from both of them. Choices that seemed right at the time, choices they now recognised that they had no alternative but to make had left them trapped. They had no way out, no way back. Only a bleak, dark future awaited them.

**__**

Chapter 2 – Richie

Rocketboy looked closely at his Team Leaders and felt a sick worry in his stomach.

There was something wrong with Ash today. He was pale and looked like he hadn't slept well the previous night. He had not eaten any breakfast except to grab a bottle of beer from the fridge and stride out of the mess room with an angry scowl. What disturbed him even more, however, was Misty's state. Her face, though well made-up, was clearly marked with tears. Her eyes were bloodshot a bright red and she seemed to have shrunk in on herself since yesterday's opening triumph.

Rocketboy shot a look at Naomi, who looked _very_ worried. _What the hell is happening?_ he thought desperately.

"Okay," Ash said in a hoarse tone. He coughed violently and took a moment to try to gather himself before continuing. He hadn't slept at all last night, in between Misty's continual nightmares and his own bouts of sickness. He was far from optimum condition. "Okay, we have our first special assignment," he said gently. He had to keep professional for the others' sake. If he and Misty screwed up, Giovanni would hold their support team just as responsible.

Ash handed the two Black Rockets each a glossy picture of Richie, smiling and happy at the moment he won his first Divisional Championship. "This is Richie Yeager," Ash said neutrally. "He is a Champions League Trainer. According to our information he, and at least one companion, are travelling through our theatre of operations. Our orders are to acquire his Charizard for Team Rocket's own use."

Ash used all of his self-control to keep himself from shaking. Misty was hugging herself hard and trying to keep calm by checking and re-checking her six Pokéballs. "Now I want you to be careful," Ash said. "Mr. Yeager is a very dangerous and very skilled Trainer. He has beaten the best Team Rocket has to offer before."

Ash drew in a deep breath. He felt like a pile of shit a mile deep, but he had no other real choice. The only thing he and Misty had left was their oaths and their determination to keep as many innocents safe as they could. "I do know, however, that he has several weaknesses," Ash added. "One of his companions is a young woman called Marina Jjones. I know for a certainty that the two are emotionally involved, so he will certainly take extra risks to protect her. Additionally, I have noticed that he tends to use ranged attacks in bouts where that isn't appropriate. So, my plan is to threaten Ms. Jjones and then launch a close attack with earth- and rock-types. When he is subdued, we'll find the goods and take it. Any questions?" Ash almost physically jerked when he heard his own words. The easy tone in which he was describing assault, theft and the moral equivalent of kidnapping and enslavement causing him a pain inside deeper than anything else he had ever experienced. Somehow, he held back a groan of pain.

"Uh, Boss?"

"Yes, Naomi?"

"Uh, how do you know his strengths and weaknesses so well?" the young Black Rocket asked. "I mean, it isn't the sort of thing intelligence briefings usually mention."

Ash swallowed hard. "Let's just say I have personal knowledge of the target," he growled. Then he left the room, _fast_.

"What is wrong with him?" Rocketboy gasped.

"When they were children," Misty suddenly announced, her usually cheery voice quiet and icy cold, "they were the best of friends." Misty stood and moved to follow Ash. She paused and looked back at the two back-up agents again. "This is what he has sworn to do for Team Rocket, and he means to keep to his oath, no matter how much it hurts," she continued, her quiet voice filling the room. "Remember that. It is a trial we all have to face, sooner or later."

Rocketboy and Naomi looked at each other in horror and surprise as the other White Rocket left the room, almost dragging herself along the floor.

Misty found Ash in one of the toilets, kneeling over the bowl. "How are you doing Ash?" she asked and kicked herself mentally for asking the dumbest question in human history.

"I feel like the worst human being alive," Ash replied, wiping the vomit from his mouth. "I'll make it, but I don't hold out much hope for my soul."

"Then we have to make sure we don't lose that most important part of ourselves," Misty insisted. "We've got to ensure we never cause more suffering than is absolutely necessary. We've got to protect the innocent whenever we can, and we've got to make sure that we never, _ever_ start to enjoy it when we have to do things like this."

Ash nodded. "It is going to be a hard life, Misty," he said. "I'm sorry I got you into this."

"I made my own choice, Ash," she replied with a weak smile. "We both know we haven't had a choice since the moment Brock betrayed us."

Ash stood up and half-heartedly tried to tidy up his uniform. "We've got an assignment to do," he said unnecessarily. "Somehow we are going to do our best and not compromise what few principles we can still claim without hypocrisy." Misty sighed, tears threatening her eyes again. "And God have mercy on us," Ash added, "because I don't think anyone else will."

***

About half an hour later, two Trainers were walking through the forest about five miles inland of the coast. In the lead was Richie Yeager, a Champion's League Trainer and widely regarded as the next best Trainer on Earth next to the new Master, Gary Oak, and the late Ash Ketchum. Walking next to him, arm-in-arm with her head resting on his shoulder was a woman with long black hair and haunting blue-grey eyes, Marina Jjones, a water-type specialist from the far distant Johto Forest region.

"You're right, Richie," she sighed after a moment. "The Viridian Forest _is_ beautiful at this time of year. It reminds me of home."

"Then I'm glad," Richie said quietly. "Did I ever thank you for coming with me?"

"Every night and in the most wonderful way possible," Marina replied with a laugh. She leaned over to place a kiss on Richie's cheek.

Standing in a tree, Ash scowled at that act of affection and only felt worse. Then and there he swore that not one drop of blood would be spilt today if he could avoid it. It was the only redemption left to him. He looked at Misty, in the next branch over, and nodded to her. _Stand by…_

"Yep, it's good to get away from the rat-race once in a while," Richie added with a gentle sigh. "No press, no battles, no trouble…"

Now that was a cue if Ash had ever heard one. _Here goes… and God forgive me… God forgive me…_ "Did you say 'trouble?'" Ash shouted.

"Well prepare to make it _double!_" Misty chimed in.

The two young people jumped from the trees and landed agilely in front of a startled Richie and Marina. "To protect the world from devastation," Misty announced.

"To unite all peoples of our nation," Ash continued.

"To expound the joys of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Misty,"

"Ash,"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender, or prepare to fight!"

Raichu jumped off of his own tree branch and landed in between his friends. "Raichu! Rai-ai-rai!" [Raichu, that's right!]

Richie almost jumped out of his skin. Instead he grabbed a Pokéball and waited for the Rockets to make the first move. He had heard of these two, of course. Although he couldn't understand _why_ Team Rocket would go to the trouble of altering two of its' agents to resemble Ash and Misty, he had to admit they had done a great job. 

The man was exactly as Richie imagined Ash would grow up. Tall, powerful and with the firm gaze of a man born to lead. The false 'Misty,' too, was just as he imagined the girl from Cerulean City would grow up. She was a vision of beauty with long ginger hair and emerald green eyes. There was only one thing wrong: Ash and Misty would _never_ wear that uniform. There was something in their eyes too… a harshness or pain.

__

I won't start a fight… I won't start a fight… Ash was telling himself over and over again. "Hi Richie," he said quietly. "It's been a long time."

"We've never met, creep," Richie spat back. "And pretending to be my two dead friends isn't helping you."

"Do you really believe that?" Misty asked, a desperate tone entering her voice. She held out her arms in supplication. "Richie, stop thinking how they want you to think and _look_ at us." She shook her head and moved slightly closer to Ash, fearing a battle was inevitable. 

"It's us, Richie," Ash said. He drew in a deep breath before continuing. "With a lot more pain and many regrets. For instance, I'm sorry that I won't get to sit beside you at the Master Trainers' table as we hoped."

There was a long, stricken pause. "How… how did you know he told me that?" Richie asked in horror.

Marina clutched Richie's arm desperately. "Richie," she whispered, "just look at their eyes… It's _them_."

Richie swallowed. If the eyes were the windows of the soul, then he _did_ know these two. "If you are Ash Ketchum," he said, "tell me what you called Team Rocket when they attacked us during the 2061 Indigo Challenge Cup."

Ash laughed. "I have never told Jessie and James this, because I know that they would never let me live that one down," he remarked. "I called them 'Team Loser.'"

Richie began to shake. "You and I were the only ones there," Richie said, tears starting in his eyes. "Ash… how did this happen?"

"It is a long, ugly story," Ash replied. "And it doesn't matter in the end. In many ways you were right. The Ash and Misty you knew _are_ dead." Ash brushed his Team Rocket uniform nervously. "We've had to adapt to a world that is filled with a lot more bad things than I ever thought possible. Which is why I'm here now."

Now _that_ sounded like bad news. Richie braced himself and tried to be ready for anything. Marina tensed too. "What do you mean?" Richie asked, trying to keep his tone of voice neutral.

"Richie…" Ash sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid that Zippo's strength and skill has come to the attention of my superiors. I am under _orders_ to bring him to them. Please hand him over." Ash stepped forward and held out his hand to receive a Pokéball.

"Forget it!" Richie shouted, backing off. "I won't hand over one of my friends to Team Rocket. Ash, if there is anything of my friend left in you, you won't do this."

"Richie we don't have any other choice," Misty snapped. "Do you think we _like_ being thieves? Terrorists? We have spent the last four years compromising every one of our principles while trying to keep true to ourselves _and_ to the organisation that was keeping us alive in a world filled with enemies. Right now, we are trying to protect people who are our responsibility, people who will be put in danger if we don't do as we are told."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Richie asked acidically.

"That doesn't matter," Ash announced, his voice desolate and hopeless. "All that matters is this. I don't want to fight you, Richie. I don't want to hurt you or your friends. _Please_ give Zippo to me, now. I personally guarantee his safety and well being and I _swear_ that if it is in my power I will see him returned safely to you."

Richie sneered and pulled out a Pokéball. "I don't know what you two have been through over the last four years," he commented, "but it has clearly screwed up your minds. Team Rocket's promises aren't worth the breath it takes to make them. Now get out of here or I'll drive you off."

"I'm sorry, Richie," Ash announced, genuine grief and shame twisting his features. "Raichu, Stun Shock attack."

"Sparky, I choose you!" Richie released his own Raichu. "Thunder Shield!"

"Go Staryu!"

"Togetic, Psy Beam!"

The entire area suddenly turned into a free-fire zone as electric, water and psychic attacks flashed back and forth. A century-old tree was struck by a one of Togetic's Psy Blasts and fell to the earth with a crunch. Ash was blown backwards by a Water Gun attack from Marina's Staryu. Raichu ran over to Ash and threw a Thunder Shield over his friend as he recovered from the attack.

Misty kind of snapped when Ash went down. She recalled Togetic and unleashed her Gyarados. "Madcoil, Dragon Rage attack!" she shouted.

"Misty, no!" Ash shouted as he staggered to his feet. "Pull him back, _now_!" Dragon Rage was notoriously difficult to control. There was too great a risk of injuries. "Raichu, stay close," he ordered, pulling out a Pokéball. "Rose-Roar, I choose you!"

Rose-Roar, Ash's Ivysaur materialised. In a move Ash had rehearsed a dozen times, but never expected to use against a friend, she seized Sparky in her vine whips, flipped him upside down and banged his head against the ground several times. Then she tossed the semi-conscious electric type into a tree.

"Sparky!" Richie shouted. "You _bastard!_" Richie recalled his fallen friend and unleashed his Rhydon.

"Misty, use Madcoil on Rhydon," Ash ordered. He pointed at Marina and her Staryu. "Rose-Roar, Solar Beam!" The concentrated blast of solar energy slammed into Staryu, blowing the water-type back into its' Trainer's arms and sending the two of them tumbling helplessly across the ground.

"MARINA!" Richie screamed. Ash winced. He knew exactly how he would feel if Misty were hit like that. More than ever before, he realised how much he had… fallen… in the last four years. His one-time friend ran across to grab his fallen lover. "You scum!" he hissed tearfully. "Well you wanted him, now you'll get him! Go Zippo! Fire Storm attack!"

Ash was ready. He gestured to the right, ordering Raichu to scale the trees and hide in the canopy to Richie's right. Simultaneously, he recalled Rose-Roar and deployed his Wartortle.

Zippo emerged with a bellow of defiance and prepared to launch the most powerful attack known to the fire-type. "Wartortle," Ash said, "Seltzer!" That was an attack Ash first taught his first Squirtle, now long gone. As Zippo opened his mouth to attack, Wartortle fired a Hydro Pump attack down his throat. Zippo hiccuped and blew out a cloud of steam, his fires temporarily dampened. He was so shocked by the sudden pre-emptive strike that he didn't see the follow-up. Wartortle tumbled through the air and slammed his hard shell into the dragon's head, knocking him out.

"Zippo… NO!" Richie shouted.

"Raichu, Stun Shock," Ash ordered. The electric charge flashed across Richie and Marina's bodies, making them writhe in pain before blessed unconsciousness claimed them. Simultaneously, Madcoil threw Richie's unconscious Rhydon to the ground next to his Trainer. A long silence fell over the battlefield.

"Hey… I think… have we just won?" Misty asked.

"No…" Ash replied helplessly. "We've lost, Misty." He sagged into himself and began to cry. "I've become everything I hate."

"We had no choice, Ash," Misty said gently. She touched his shoulder and jumped back in fear when she saw what was in her lover's eyes.

"Then we are going to start making choices, Misty," Ash promised. "I'm done with dancing to Giovanni's tune. From now on, we play the game by _our _rules."

Richie was slowly regaining consciousness. He watched in horror as Ash pulled out a Master-type Pokéball and captured Zippo. The look on Ash's face… well there was nothing there. The guy was crying, but he could see no emotion at all. "My friend really is dead," Richie croaked, drawing Ash's attention. "Both of you are. The Ash and Misty I knew would _never_ have done this!"

"Yeah, well I half agree with you," Ash grated. "I'm really sorry, Richie. My promise stands, I'll bring him back to you if I can." He turned to leave.

"You _hypocrite_!" Richie shouted. "How can you live with yourself…?" Suddenly Ash was on him. He pulled the other Trainer off of the ground by the lapels of his coat.

"You self-righteous idiot, don't you _dare_ presume to judge me," Ash snapped. "Do you have any idea the _hell_ we have experienced?" Richie cowered away; he was sure Ash was going to kill him. "Brock, Gary and Daisy did this to us, Richie," Ash hissed. "They conspired to steal away our lives and, when that didn't work out, decided to leave us for dead. They brainwashed all of our other Pokémon and, through Professor Oak, made sure that if we showed our faces in any League facility, we would be _dead_. They managed to have us declared dead and turned almost every friend we've ever had against us. So if we've had to compromise, it is only because the so-called 'good guys' aren't as pure and clean as you seem to think."

Ash dropped Richie and stepped back, his shoulders slumped. "In this world, there is no black or white, good or evil, Richie," Ash said gently, "only shades of grey. I've adapted to that truth. I suggest that you do the same." Ash sucked in a deep breath and turned to Misty, who was watching him with deep concern. "Let's get out of here," he ordered.

***

"_Well done, Ash,_" Giovanni said with a broad smile. "_A successful acquisition on your first try! I must admit I had my concerns whether you were ready for this so soon, but I am glad to say that you put my concerns at rest._"

Ash tried to smile and tried to feel good at Giovanni's praise, but instead he felt filthy all over. He had spent maybe ten minutes today _outside _of the shower. He had almost washed the top layer of skin off his body. "Thank you, sir," he managed in a hollow voice.

Ash looked over to where Buddy was setting up the teleportation equipment. The preparations were ready, so he put the Master Ball in the transmission apparatus. He nodded at Ash. "Transmitting now, sir," the technician said formally. Ash nodded back.

"One stolen Charizard teleporting over to Headquarters as we speak," Ash told Giovanni, allowing the bitterness into his voice. "Wear it in health."

"_Are you alright, Ash?_" Giovanni asked in a genuinely concerned tone.

"Yes, of course I am," Ash said in a sarcastic tone. "After all, I've only just assaulted two friends, kidnapped one of their Pokémon and finally destroyed any illusion I had that I might still be a good person. Wouldn't _you _feel alright?"

"_Ash,_" Giovanni said gently. "_I know this is hard for you, and I _do _appreciate how having to do this must make you feel. All I can say is that this is _necessary_. We have to…_"

"Use every weapon in our armoury to fight this war," Ash finished. "Yes I know, sir. Now if you excuse me, I've got a few more lives to ruin today. Seashell Base _out_." Ash cut the connection and jumped to his feet.

Almost immediately, the communications console began to beep again. A shocked Buddy checked the smaller status screen to see the source of the message. "Um, Headquarters are trying to raise us again, sir," he said gently.

"Let them leave a message in our communications buffer," Ash said, boiling mad. He strode out of the communications room and up the stairs to the living area. Buddy watched him go and tried to fight down the terror he felt at seeing such a lot of _nothing_ in Ash's eyes.

***

Ash joined Misty, who was sitting on the top of the stone bluffs hiding the entrance to the hanger cavern. "If you are planning to jump, I am going to have to insist on joining you," Ash said bleakly.

Misty somehow managed to laugh. "No, I'm not suicidal yet," she said. "I'm not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign." Ash sat down next to her and sagged in exhaustion. She hugged him. "My poor Ash," she said gently. "You always were the idealistic one. I guess my sisters' behaviour made me a bit cynical. It is easier to survive when you expect the worst of the world."

"Survival is nothing if you can't have what matters, Misty," Ash said. "I'm telling you here and now that this is the last time we do this for Giovanni. I don't care what the consequences are; I am through rationalising actions like this. I meant what I said in the forest: we are going to start making our own choices up if there are no others available."

"And the risk?" Misty asked.

"Any risk is worth it if we do the right thing," Ash said. "When we first joined Team Rocket it was out of gratitude for their saving us. We kept on as Jessie and James' back-ups for four years because everyone thought we were dead and we didn't think we had any choice but to serve the organisation and do it well. Now the price of that is to compromise everything we ever held sacred and ruin innocent lives at every turn." Ash sighed and buried his face against Misty's breast. "We were fooling ourselves, Misty," he groaned, "We can't live like this." Ash straightened up and continued in a tone of utter certainty. "From now on we follow _our_ agenda and keep to _our_ standards. And I don't care about the risk anymore."

"I would face anything so long as I could be with you," Misty told Ash with utter sincerity. Ash looked up with a broad smile and kissed her. They made love there, that night, under the stars to seal their promise that, from now on, they would no longer by the loyal little Rockets. Survival was no longer enough. They were going to _live_ again.

**__**

Chapter 3 – Penance and Redemption

"So this device can sample a Pokémon's DNA even if that Pokémon is in its' ball?" Ash said thoughtfully, examining the device Holly had shown him.

"That's right, sir," Holly said. Buddy had told her what had happened during the Team Leader's conversation with The Boss. It made her nervous. "It is a standard diagnostic tool that all Pokémon Medics carry."

Ash nodded with a smile. "I want to have one of these issued to every member of the team," Ash told her. "And I will need some kind of container, a pouch of some sort that we could use to carry multiple sample slides safely."

"Sir," Holly said, "can I ask why?" Holly had survived for some time. She wasn't about to get disciplined because this madman was going renegade.

"You can _ask,_" Ash said with a laugh. Holly didn't laugh, and the look of uncertainty she shot him made Ash roll his eyes. "Look, we can either steal a rare Pokémon, causing its' trainer who knows what inconvenience and pain, or we can sample its' DNA. You know how good the organisation is at cloning."

"Well… it is hardly standard procedure," Holly said helplessly. "It is easier to simply re-train a captured Pokémon."

"Easier?" Ash asked. "Perhaps, but it isn't _right_. I think the time has come for Team Rocket to start caring about such issues." Holly nodded uncertainly. "Look, Holly," Ash said with a sight, running his hand through his black hair, "if it will make you feel better, I will make this official. This is a direct order. Issue DNA samplers to all team members in time for this morning's patrol or I will have you court-martialled for insubordination, okay?"

There was something about Ash's friendly smile that made Holly's stomach do a back flip. She felt thoroughly intimidated. "I understand… sir," she said in a frightened tone of voice.

***

"_And frankly, Ms. Waterflower, I did not appreciate your team leader cutting me off mid-sentence,_" Giovanni growled from the communications screen. He was angry, and more than a little scared that he was losing control of his prize agents. The languid posture Misty was adopting in her chair and the sultry smile she was directing in his direction didn't make him feel any better.

"Of course you didn't sir," Misty said brightly. "I do have to apologise for that. Ash wasn't feeling very well at the time."

"_I guessed_," Giovanni snapped. "_Where is he anyway?_"

"Oh, he is talking with our medic about changes to our field equipment," Misty said. "He told me to handle any routine communications while he was dealing with that."

Giovanni clearly caught the implication that _he _was considered 'routine.' The insult and insubordination was all-too clear. Anger gave strength to his next orders. "_Well if that young primadonna of yours has recovered from his sulk, I expect you to start standard patrols immediately,_" he commanded in his most menacing tone.

"Oh, we're just preparing for our first patrol now," Misty said with a broad smile.

"_You are?_" Giovanni said in some surprise. He shook his head. _Strategic and tactical abilities off of the top of the scale_, he thought, recalling the psychological evaluation of Ash Ketchum when he first joined Team Rocket. _Why do I even try to stay a step ahead of him?_ He turned his attention back to Misty, whose smile was bordering on patronising. "_Well, just remember that _I want results_. I don't know what moral issues you and Ash might have and I don't care. You are Team Rocket and I expect you to remember that _and _your oaths to serve this organisation._"

"Sir," Misty said in a tone of reproach, "you can be sure that everything we will do will be in the best interests of the organisation." _Whether or not it fits in with _your_ idea of what the organisation needs doesn't really matter_, she added silently.

Giovanni knew there was something up here, but he couldn't tell what it was. He felt angry and frustrated. It was like dealing with Joe and Miyamoto all over again. They were always, _always_ making up the rules as they went along. Now it looked like Ash and Misty were going down the same path. He sighed. "_Just remember that I will not tolerate insubordination or deliberate failure_," Giovanni snapped. "_I await your first patrol report. Headquarters out_."

"Seashell Base out," Misty confirmed. When the screen blinked off she added: "Asshole." Buddy stared at her in shock as she rose and moved to leave the communications room. She noticed the stare. "Buddy," she said, laying on the irony with a shovel, "if you take a photograph, it will last longer."

***

In a far distant part of the Viridian Forest, Sara Wade, Danny Morrision and Jace Dillon were continuing on their Journey, more than a little proud of the fact that they had won their first Gym Badge at the Cascade Gym. "I don't think Gym Leader Daisy is all that good," Sara stated.

"She was good enough to nearly wipe out your Oddish," Danny sneered.

"Yeah, but I still won the Badge, didn't I?" Sara said, slightly defensive.

"I wish you two would stop arguing," was all Jace would say. His newly evolved Beedrill buzzed in agreement, making him laugh.

Unknown to the three Novices they were being followed, from downwind this time, by a certain ragged figure. Hunger had overcome fear, and the girl seemed likely to offer some kind of food if she were not around her harsher male colleagues.

Suddenly a moment of violence lashed forward over the party. "To protect the world from devastation," a woman's voice called out.

"To unite all peoples of our nation," added a man's voice

"To expound the joys of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Misty,"

"Ash,"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender, or prepare to fight!"

"Raichu! Rai-ai-rai!"

"What the hell?" Jace blurted in horror.

"It's _Team Rocket!_" Sara screamed, her knees buckling in terror.

"Go Charmander!" Danny ordered. He released his loyal fire-type. To his distress, the two white-uniformed terrorists didn't even bat an eyelid.

"Raichu, Thunder-shock," ordered the man, the obvious leader. His electric squirrel unleashed a powerful shock that staggered Charmander. Then, at an order that was little more than a gesture, he charged forward and slapped his electrically charged tail across the fire-type's snout, sending it reeling back.

"Guys," Danny shouted desperately, "I could use some help here!"

"Pin Missile Attack, Beedrill," Jace ordered.

"Psy Shield," the woman countered. A Togetic fluttered down from the sky and dropped a blue-white energy field across the two attackers. The pin missiles struck the shield and dropped uselessly to the ground. Charmander went down as the Raichu fired another Thunder-shock attack. Simultaneously, at a command of 'Kinetic Punch,' the Togetic generated an invisible club that slapped Beedrill from the air.

Danny suddenly knew fear. He was no coward, but these two were _good_. Jace swapped Beedrill for Caterpie, but Danny didn't hold out much hope for the small bug-type. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted.

"Oh no you _don't_," the man shouted. Do it, Misty!"

"Togetic, Tripwire!"

"Togi-togi-tii-gee!" Togetic reached out psychically and pulled the two boys' feet from under them, sent Danny and Jace sprawling. Sara was still standing where she was at the outset, frozen with fear at the speed of the dreaded terrorists' attack.

There was a long pause. "Have you two got that out of your systems?" the one who called himself 'Ash' asked severely. "You might want to find out what someone wants before you attack them in the future." Ash walked over to Sara and waved a hand in front of her eyes in some concern. "Are you okay, kid?" he asked.

"Please… please don't… don't hurt me, mister…" the girl sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I won't," Ash replied, his expression softening briefly. "I promise." Ash strode over to look at the two male novices, who had put up a fairly abysmal performance all told. Ash smiled slightly. _Was I much better when I first started out?_ He asked himself. It is possible that they misinterpreted his smile. They cowered back from him.

"You… you won't get away with this," Danny said uncertainly.

"Get away with what?" Ash asked. "Defending myself when you and your buddy set your Pokémon on us for no obvious reason?"

"You're thieves!" Jace almost shouted. "Everyone knows about Team Rocket."

Ash smiled at the ginger-haired boy. "Everyone knows about the way Team Rocket _was_," Ash corrected. "Let's just say that the game plan is changing."

The woman, Misty, laughed. She walked over to Sara and touched her gently. The girl almost screamed at the touch. "Don't be frightened," Misty said in her quiet, caring voice. "We won't hurt you. Just sit down and we'll get this over with as quickly as possible." Sara swallowed. She stepped back and, finally, sat down.

"Now, let's see what you three were so keen to protect, hmm?" Ash said. He extended a foot and flipped Danny over onto his face. He knelt and examined his Pokéballs, taking a moment to read the ID tags. "Hmm… a Pikachu and a Squirtle. Fairly routine."

Misty patted Sara on the shoulder before checking her Pokéballs. "An Oddish, a Spearow and a Dratini… hey, I like them!"

"P… please don't take Hydra away, miss," Sara begged.

"I won't," Misty said with her most reassuring smile.

Ash raised a brow at Jace, who sighed and handed over his one still-filled Pokéball. "An Eightlegz?" Ash said. "I don't think one of these has ever been captured before!"

Jace looked up at Ash bitterly. "And now you're going to take him away," he predicted.

"I said that the game plan has changed," Ash reminded the boy. He pulled a cylindrical device about the size of a pocket torch off of his belt and connected it to the recall lens of the Pokéball. The device made a 'tweedle-tweedle' noise for a few seconds and then 'bleeped' cheerfully. Ash threw the Pokéball back to Jace and pulled a glass slide from the device, which he then carefully inserted into a pouch that he had attached to his belt. "Young man, I think you should congratulate your Eightlegz," Ash said. "He is about to get a whole band of identical brothers."

"What?" Danny asked in amazement and more than a little disappointment. "Is that it?"

"You were expecting something else?" Misty asked with a mocking smile.

"Uh, yeah," Danny said. "Don't you guys steal Pokémon?"

"Sometimes," Ash admitted. "But only special kinds of Pokémon. Is there any real reason why we should _want_ to steal yours?" He grinned at the shaking heads. "Isn't it nice when people co-operate Misty?"

"Isn't it indeed, Ash," Misty agreed.

__

Ash… Misty… the derelict thought. He _knew_ those names… knew those faces… knew that incredibly efficient fighting style. He rose from his crouch, his face suddenly twisting with horror. _Ash and Misty… yes… they were… they were my friends… but they were not from Team Rocket when I knew them. We fought Team Rocket together… travelled together… I am… I am…_

"Now what do we have here?" a voice asked from behind him. He whirled and saw two young people in the black uniform of Team Rocket fighters. The man in the lead grinned in a very threatening way. "Are you a spy or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" he asked.

"Get… get away from me!" the derelict howled. He tried to charge past the man, but got less than a foot before he got hold of him and punched him _hard_ in the gut. The derelict swung out blindly, connecting with nothing. The man lifted him up and delivered a hard right cross to the jaw. The universe turned to sparkles and derelict went down.

"Crazy idiot," Rocketboy said with a scowl.

"We should take him to Ash," Naomi said. She continued in a slightly supercilious tone. "He might decide this bit of gutter slime is important."

Rocketboy shrugged. Ash's behaviour was getting weirder and weirder, but it was a refreshing change. He still had nightmares about how Butch and Cassidy treated Novices they captured. Anything, no matter how unorthodox, was better than what _they_ would have done to those three kids by now.

Rocketboy and Naomi dragged the derelict out of the bush. "Hey, Boss, look what we caught," Rocketboy said jovially. "What do you think? Human or Mankey?"

The derelict looked up at Ash, his face twisted with pain and terror. "Ash…" he whispered. He turned and looked at Misty. "Misty… who… who am I?"

Ash's face went white. He knew that voice. He knew it _very well._ "Brock," he said. Misty physically jumped and cried out in surprise.

The ragged man's narrow eyes opened wide when he heard that name. _Brock… that is my name… my name is Brock Slate and…_ and oceans of pain and self-loathing dropped down on his from the sky, making him suddenly scream in horror.

Ash was a blur. His initial charge tore Brock from the two Black Rockets' grasp and sent both of them tumbling across the ground. Somehow Ash kept hold of the older man's throat through the entire tumble. He came out on top, kneeling on his chest. He drew his Berretta P93R automatic pistol and pressed it to Brock's forehead. "You piece of shit," he shouted. "_Everything_ is your fault. All of it! Every pain, every compromise, every sin we have been forced to commit in the last four years is because of _you_!" Ash leaned forward to scream in the man's face. "Well we are going to end it here and now. You are going to pay for what you did to us! Do you understand? _Do you?_"

Brock had started crying. He lay there, not offering the slightest bit of resistance. "Please…" he wept. "Please…"

"Please what?" Ash shouted. "Please don't kill you? Please have mercy? The same mercy you had on _us_, stealing our friends, leaving us for dead and giving us no choice but to join Team Rocket? That was no mercy, Brock, and you won't get any now!"

"Please…" Brock continued as if he hadn't heard Ash, "please… kill me. Stop the pain, Ash… for the love of God kill me now…"

***

Brock was sitting in the centre of the small clearing, Ash and Misty standing over him. To one side, a nervous Rocketboy and Naomi were standing guard over the three captured Novices. Ash had calmed down a lot, but they could still see the anger and pain in his and Misty's eyes as they looked down at the man whose incomprehensible betrayal had brought them to this place and this time. Ash and Misty had survived, but only by stripping themselves of all but the tiniest core of their honour and principles. Oh, the reasons were right, and the choices excusable, but they were not choices they would normally have even considered. However, It seemed that the cost to Brock had been greater still.

"Well Brock," Ash suddenly announced, "it looks like the world has passed you by."

Brock had yet to meet their eyes. He did not know why they were hesitating to kill him. Certainly it wasn't a blessing in his view. "Can we dispense with the melodramatics, Ash?" he asked bitterly. "I know you hate me and that I have ruined your lives. Now, just do me favour and get this over with, okay?"

"It isn't that easy," Misty said quietly. "You see, we have some questions first."

"Questions?" Brock asked with a hollow laugh. "Don't flatter yourselves, you two. You are Team Rocket now, thanks to me. Just do your duty."

"We might wear the uniform," Ash said, "but our duty is our decision." He knelt in front of Brock and tried to meet the man's eyes. "Right now, our duty is to find out what happened four long years ago. Why did you do it?"

"Does it matter?" Brock asked. Going over those memories would be almost too painful for words.

"I think it does, Brock," Ash said. "You were once my closest and truest friend next to Misty here. I want to know what changed that."

"Gary did," Brock replied. "Oh, not in the way you think, Ash." Brock looked in upon himself. "It was when we were in Seafoam City on the way to Viridian for the League," he explained. "I walked into a bar to get a fruit juice, and who should be there but Gary and Daisy…?"

FLASHBACK – FOUR YEARS PREVIOUSLY 

"Brock, man, how are you doin'?" Gary called, waving him over. Brock rolled his eyes when he saw Ash's greatest rival. Gary was everything Ash was, with a massive ego and an absolute lack of ethics added on for good measure. This made him probably one of the most insufferable people he had ever known.

"Gary," he replied, nodding politely. He joined the young Trainer at the bar. "I'm fine."

Suddenly something that smelt of the sweet tang of the sea moved into his perceptions. "Why Gary! Like, aren't you going to introduce us?" Daisy Waterflower, Misty's oldest sister, glided over and adhered herself to Gary's side, tilting her body to stick all her extremities out at a provocative angle. Brock began to sweat and he had difficulty concentrating. Then again, all of the 'Sensational Sisters' had that effect on him, even Misty.

Daisy smiled at Brock, making him blush. "This is Brock, Daisy m'darlin'," Gary said. "You remember him don't you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Daisy said with an expression of revelation. "One of Ash and Misty's friends. Good to see you again, Brock!" Daisy's seductive smile made Brock blush a bright red.

"So, what are you doing in Seafoam, Brock?" Gary asked politely. He waved to the barman and ordered a tall, cooled glass of Seafoam's famed Citrus Punch for the Breeder-in-training.

"Oh, I'm here with Ash and Misty," Brock replied. "We're on the way to Viridian for the Indigo League this year."

"So, I'll be able to face off against Ash-boy at last," Gary said with a cruel smile. "I can't wait."

"And against Misty too," Brock shot in proudly. "She qualified for the League this year."

"Yeah?" Daisy said in some surprise. "Well good for you, baby Sis!"

"It's funny you should mention Ash and Misty," Gary said in a thoughtful tone. "You know, Brock, we've never been close, you and I, but I try to keep all my wheels turning. How long have you been travelling with them now?"

"On and off, maybe three years," Brock replied.

Gary nodded carefully. At that moment the barman slid over Brock's juice. Gary caught it. If the finger with his large signet ring paused over the lip for a moment or so, Brock did not notice at the time. He passed the juice to his guest. "You aren't a League Trainer," Gary commented, "so why do you hang around?"

"Well, I'm training to become a Pokémon Breeder," Brock said, taking a sip of the cooling juice. "Travelling around with Ash is a good way to learn the tricks, and it is never boring!"

"Yeah, that's a Pokémon Journey alright," Gary said with a laugh. Suddenly he became serious. "How much progress have you made towards _your_ goals, Brock?" he asked.

Brock found the question puzzling. "Well, I spent a year apprenticing with Professor Ivy out in the Orange Archipelago," he said. "Of course, I had to leave to rejoin Ash and Misty…"

"That's friendship," Daisy said with a broad smile.

"Yes…" Brock said. He took another sip of his drink. That statement seemed rather hollow, but he couldn't figure out why.

"I don't think so," Gary contradicted firmly. "A friend doesn't drag you around while he pursues _his_ goals. What about _your_ needs, Brock?"

"Well, they are my friends," Brock said lamely. "Ash is fun to be around, so is Misty… even if she can be a _little _short tempered."

"Still has the mallet huh?" Daisy asked sympathetically. "She uses it on me and the other girls whenever she wants her own way!"

Brock laughed. "She uses it on me and Ash too," he admitted. He took a longer pull of the drink, finishing it. Gary gestured for another.

"Who gets it the most?" Daisy asked. 

"Me," he confirmed. "I'm pretty sure she's got a crush on Ash, so it limits the temper tantrums a lot."

"Do they ever seem to appreciate you?" Gary asked. "I seem to remember they've got quite a few choice names for you. 'Pathetic' comes to mind." Gary shook his head. "Do you really think that they care?" 

For some reason, Brock couldn't think of a single reason for not answering the question. "I do wonder," he admitted.

Brock took a sip of his second drink and reflected on how friendly Gary and Daisy seemed. "The thing is, Brock," Gary said, "we're worried about you. Ash and Misty seem to be dragging you around for their own benefit and you don't get anything out of the arrangement."

"No…" Brock said in a lame tone. "No… they are my friends…" _Jeez but this stuff tastes good_. Gary smiled as Brock finished his second glass and called for another.

"Do _friends_ treat you that way?" Daisy wanted to know after Brock had received his third drink. "Hitting you? Laughing at you? Stopping you from attaining your goals just because they want your company?"

Brock tried to think, but his head felt as if it were filled with cotton wool. "I guess… no… not really…" he said quietly.

"But we're your friends, aren't we?" Gary said. "We're treating you well, and worrying about you. Who do you think is your friend?"

"Well, you guys are being nice," Brock admitted. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, maybe, you should think about who your friends are," Gary said with a broad, cruel smile that made Brock feel warm and safe. "Maybe we should tell you about _our _problems with Ash and Misty. Perhaps, as you are our _friend_, you can help us."

END FLASHBACK 

"Some kind of poison," was Misty's opinion. "It must have been in Gary's ring. He smeared it on the lip of your glass. Every sip you took would have increased the effect."

"I have to assume so, yes," Brock admitted. "It made everything they said sound so… _reasonable_," he said. "Within an hour, I would have agreed to pull my arms and legs off 'for my friends.'" He laughed bitterly. "They shot me some cock-and-bull story about you two conspiring against them and me. I bought the whole line and agreed to help them. I was… I was so _proud_. God help me, I actually believed that I was taking a big step forward in my life."

Brock looked down for a moment. For a few seconds, he had looked like his old self. Now he retreated back inside his shell of pain and self-loathing. "Most of the rest you know," he said. "We ambushed you and left you for dead. I had a difficult time figuring out _why_ when Gary and Daisy had told me that they just wanted you to stop hurting them." Brock smiled bitterly. "They told me that it was probably for the best, that you would only find some ways to be mean to us again. I was so tanked up on their idiot-making poison by that point that I bought that line too. I gladly helped them brainwash your Pokémon and publish lies about your last wishes so that they could steal everything that you had. Then…" Brock stopped and looked at his two… friends. "How did you end up in Team Rocket anyway?" he asked in puzzlement.

Ash shrugged. "Gary, Daisy and Professor Oak arranged it so that we had no other choice, except maybe to go and live in the wilderness," he explained. "Team Rocket rescued us and put us back together. We both realised that the Oaks had ensured we could never live a normal life again. At least in Team Rocket we had some friends and some kind of cause to keep us going in the dark nights." Ash sighed and looked at Misty. "It was a… questionable decision in retrospect," he admitted. "But it really was the only one left."

"It certainly was," Brock agreed. "A cause to keep you going… I wish I had something like that. Anyway, it finally happened shortly after your duplicates… well it must have been you two for real… wrecked Professor Oak's new laboratory. I heard once that repeated exposure to poison allows you to build up an immunity to its' effects. I guess that is what happened to me. I was having a harder and harder time understanding what I was doing. Eventually, I decided to face Gary and Daisy…"

FLASHBACK – FOUR YEARS PREVIOUSLY 

"This really isn't a good time, Brock," Gary said, brushing past the big man from Pewter City.

"Well, make the time," Brock snapped. Gary stopped and scowled at him. "The more I think about this, I'm having real doubts about this whole thing."

Gary looked Brock in the eye thoughtfully. "Have you been eating out again?" he asked. "Daisy and I have warned you that you shouldn't eat food without the medical supplements we put in it here at the Gym."

"No I haven't," Brock almost shouted. "I do not like being treated like an idiot child, Gary. Now are you going to talk to me or not?"

Everyone in the atrium of the Cascade Gym had turned to stare at the two men scowling at each other. Gary grimaced and beckoned Brock over. "Jeez, keep your voice down," Gary said. "Okay, if you are busting, meet me in Daisy's office."

A few minutes later, Brock was sitting opposite Daisy while Gary paced around the spacious office, looking very nervous. "I'm worried," Brock announced. "I'm worried about those two Rockets made up to look like Ash and Misty and I sure as hell am having second thoughts about what we did to the originals."

"Brock," Daisy said placatingly, "like, calm down. We're your friends. Don't you trust our judgement?"

"Don't try to soft-soap me, Daisy," Brock sneered. "I'm tired of following your lead like an idiot. I want you two to explain the whole deal to me, bit by bit."

Daisy shot Gary a worried look. The Trainer shrugged worriedly. "There isn't much to explain," Daisy said. "We told you that those two were more trouble than they were worth. Now I admit that I didn't want them to die, but in the long run…"

"In the long run, _we murdered them_," Brock shouted, leaning forward over the desk. "Over relative League performances and Misty's refusal to do dances at the gym! My God! What were we thinking?"

"That's enough," Gary snapped. Brock turned to look at him. "I don't know what has got into you, Brock," Gary announced, "and I don't care. However, if you will not be a good boy and simply accept what we told you, you will regret it, right?"

Brock stood up and, much to his satisfaction, noted that he still towered over Gary. "Don't try to threaten me, Gary," Brock said quietly.

"Brock, like, sit down and shut up," Daisy snapped. "You will conduct yourself like a civilised man in my office. That goes for you too, Gary."

Gary looked chastened. Brock turned back to face the Gym Leader. Suddenly a green vine wrapped around him and lifted him off of the floor. "What the…?" Brock turned to see the Bayleef that had been Ash's Chikorita. She had ensnared him with her vine whip.

"Well," Gary said, "I guess it was bound to happen eventually." Daisy laughed and walked over to join Gary as he pulled off Brock's Pokébelt. "More for the collection," Gary giggled maliciously.

"What… what are you doing?" Brock asked desperately.

"Tying off a loose end," Gary said. 

The door burst open and four Peacekeepers barged in. "Gentlemen, can you remove this intruder?" Daisy asked sweetly. 

The four soldiers marched Brock to one of the rear exits of the Gym. "You aren't welcome here, Brock," Gary announced. "Pretty soon, when everyone knows how you have been selling Pokémon stored at this Gym to Team Rocket, you won't be welcome _anywhere_. And a word to the wise: Don't try to publicise that little disagreement we had with Ash and Misty. You will find that my grandfather's… sponsors… have very little appreciation for the free press." Gary nodded and the PKs threw Brock hard onto the tarmac. Brock clearly saw the man's sneering face as the doors closed.

END FLASHBACK 

"Sponsors?" Ash snapped, latching onto one interesting point. "What did he mean, Brock?"

Brock blinked in surprise. "He must mean the powers behind the U.N. Governing Committee," Brock said.

"The power behind the UNGC is the UN Council of Ecology and Bio-diversity, or at least that is what everyone is told as school children," Misty said gently.

"That's a lie," Brock said with a deep scowl. "Gary let it slip once. The UNCEB is a cover organisation for a branch of the Security Council. There is some kind of secret international arrangement behind nearly everything that happens in this region."

"The _Security Council_?" Ash said in disbelief. If this was right, it changed _everything._ And every one of those little hints dropped during Team Rocket indoctrination suddenly took on a sinister new meaning that completely altered the moral dimension of the organisation's actions. "What is the connection between the Professor and the Security Council?" Ash asked desperately.

"I _don't know_," Brock groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I have only heard hints and rumours. All I know is that the UNGC and the League are both connected at the very top and that the Professor is in deep, that he might even be their top man here on the ground."

Ash had to think for a moment; he paced around the clearing. "So what happened to you?" Misty asked. 

Brock laughed bitterly. "Essentially, I ended up here," he said. "I was furious and desperate. I tried to report Gary's theft of my Pokémon to the Security Police, only to find there was a warrant out for my arrest. I spent most of the next month dodging Security Police in every city from Cerulean to Pewter. Finally I reached my father, to find you two had beaten me there."

Brock sank down into himself. "I think I must have only missed you two by days. Everything was still in an uproar…"

FLASBACK – FOUR YEARS PREVIOUSLY 

Brock approached under the cover of darkness. The last few weeks had taught him caution and a healthy fear of daylight. He had to reach his home Gym and his father. Perhaps, together, they could convince the League of the terrible crimes that were being committed. Perhaps there was some kind of redemption left to him.

Brock had lived very nearly all of his life in Pewter City. He knew it far better than the Peacekeepers. It was child's play for him to gain entrance to the Gym through the ventilation system. Once inside the Gym he went to the entrance of the Gym Leader's residence. His home. Distrusting anything electronic, he knocked at the door.

For a very long five minutes, he fretted that there was no one home. Then he saw the passage light come on. The door open and his father stood there, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "It is two in the morning," Flint said, "this had better be… Brock?"

"Hi Dad," Brock said. "I'm sorry to get you up, but I am in deep trouble."

"That you are," Flint said, his face hard. He made no move to admit his eldest son. "How could you do it, Brock?"

"What?"

"How could you have betrayed Ash and Misty like that?" His father asked, scorn and horror filled his voice. The man began to cry. "Do you have any idea what they have suffered because of you?"

"How… how do you know about that?" Brock stuttered. In retrospect, it was the very worse thing he could have said.

"How do I know, Brock?" he hissed. "Why do you ask? Were you expecting them to be warm and quiet in whatever grave you and your new friends dug for them?"

"I… I…" Brock stuttered. Flint looked close to violence and he backed away from his father as fast as he could. "Dad, it wasn't like that… Gary and Daisy screwed around with my mind! I didn't know what I was doing!"

Flint paused in his denunciation. "What are you saying, Brock?" he asked.

"I think they must have used some kind of drug, Dad," Brock explained. "It made everything they said seem reasonable. I… I couldn't think straight. I'm only just beginning to recover now."

"You know," Flint said in a strangely detached tone, "when I was a teenager, I actually went on a hypnosis course, mostly as a laugh… The things you learn change how you look at everything… But one of the most important things you learn is it is fundamentally impossible to force someone to do something that they don't want to do." Flint fell silent and allowed the implications to settle on Brock. "I'm sorry, Brock, but I really don't think you have anything else to say to me."

"Dad," Brock pleaded, crying now. "Please, Gary and Daisy turned on me when they realised their drug had worn off. I… I've lost everything. You've got to help me!"

"Just like Ash and Misty. I blame myself really," Flint said in a detached tone of voice. "I wasn't there to help you learn the difference between right and wrong. That is _my_ burden, Brock. Yours is to find some way to live with what you have done. Or, if you prefer, you can choose not to live with it. That is your decision to make." Flint stepped back and began to close the door. "Don't come this way again, Brock," he said in a quiet, broken tone.

"Dad… It wasn't my fault… I… you… you can't just _throw me onto the streets!_"

"You've done worse," Flint said. Then he looked up, and the shame and hatred that shone out of his father's eyes staggered Brock. "And don't call me 'Dad,' young man. I don't know you. I've never known you. I don't have a son called 'Brock' anymore."

"Father, please!"

"Aren't you even interested in how I know what you have done?" Flint asked. He snorted. "No, you are too worried about your own hide. Those 'duplicates' from Team Rocket were here just a few days ago. I didn't believe their story at first. Then, when the Peacekeepers came for them, the boy and his Pikachu used a move that only Ash Ketchum knows. I just wish I had believed them earlier. Whatever they have to do to survive from now on will, at least partly, be my fault. Goodbye, Brock."

Flint closed the door. Brock banged on it, screaming to be let in for almost two hours before Flint called the police and Brock fled, never to come this way again.

END FLASHBACK 

"Well I wish I could say I sympathise," Ash said quietly. "But I can't really. As much as I understand that your mind was clouded, I still can't really feel sorry for your suffering."

Brock nodded. "I'm not looking for sympathy," he said. "I know what sins I've committed. You see, Ash, my father was right. A part of me _enjoyed_ betraying you and nearly beating Misty to death. What kind of a person am I to have something like that inside of me?"

"It makes you human," Misty said tonelessly. She was touching Ash's shoulder as he knelt before their onetime friend. "We've all been forced by one thing or another to do what should be anathema to us."

Ash made to rise. "Come on, let's get you back to our base," he said. "A shave and a clean set of clothes might make things a bit easier to think about."

"No," Brock said. "I don't want your charity, Ash. What I want is…"

Ash paused. "What do you want, Brock?" he asked, half dreading what the man might say.

"Kill me," Brock said. "Please." Ash almost physically jerked away from Brock, his face blank with horror and disbelief. "Please," Brock continued. "I've wanted to die ever since that moment I ran from Pewter, but I am too much of a coward to throw myself off of a cliff or hang myself from a tree. Just do it, Ash. Put your gun to my head and pull the trigger." Brock mimed a gun with his fingers and made a 'bang, you're dead' motion.

"Brock, no," Misty whispered.

"Don't ask me for that," Ash begged. "For God's sake, man. No matter what is between us now, we were friends once…"

"Ash, I don't want to live!" Brock almost shouted. As if he were hypnotised, Ash drew his Auto-Nine and pressed it to Brock's forehead. "Please," Brock begged, tears streaming down his face onto his matted beard. "Just… just do it. If you ever held me dear in your heart… if you ever loved me as a friend… then do it…"

Ash's heart broke as he heard the utter _desolation_ in Brock's voice. He thought he had known pain, but it was nothing compared to this. "Brock…" he whispered helplessly. "Please, I can't do this to you…"

Brock actually smiled and reached up with a filthy hand to cover Ash's lips. "Shh, I know," he said gently, and he was a sixteen-year-old again, soothing the nightmares of his two ten-year-old friends. "I know it's hard, Ash, but it is the only just penalty for my actions. I know it is difficult for you to do this. However, seeing you and Misty here has helped me realise the scale of what I have done even more clearly. I _must_ die. It is my only choice I have left. And… I think I have enough courage and strength to help you one last time." Brock reached up and grasped his hand around the Auto-Nine's grip. His thumb came to rest over Ash's trigger finger. Ever so gently, he began to push. "Ash, please," Brock said, his voice very calm, "as a friend, set me free."

Ash was blinded with tears. Somehow he managed to release the safety catch. "Goodbye, Brock," he whispered.

"Goodbye Ash," Brock replied, smiling in a way that would haunt Ash's nightmares for the rest of his life. "I love you, little brother."

Ash's finger closed spasmodically on the Auto-Nine's trigger. The hammer fell, driving a long steel/titanium alloy pin into the percussion cap of the loaded cartridge. A cordite charge detonated driving a 9mm hollow tip bullet forward just over twenty centimetres before it struck the front of a skull. The bullet began to deform, creating a fast-expanding flat plate of metal that tore through the soft grey matter, tearing apart the essence of a lost soul. Finally, the bullet and a large amount of organic material exploded out of the back of the skull through a fist-sized hole, creating a spray of blood, brains and bone shards that splattered to the ground up to three yards away.

The dead thing that once, a long time ago, had been Brock Slate slumped backwards to the ground, the remains of his face showing a strangely peaceful expression. Ash fell sideways to his hands and knees, dropping his gun. He vomited violently and repeatedly. After a long moment, he could look up through his tears at the look of horror and anguish on Misty's face.

Somehow, Misty managed to wipe the tears from her lover's eyes. "He is free now," Misty said gently. "You did the only thing you could that would help him."

Ash coughed violently and looked at the three young Novices who looked utterly horrified at the execution-cum-suicide-cum-euthanasia. "Go!" Ash growled. "Get out, and remember this: Never, _ever_ defy Team Rocket. GO!" They fled into the woods.

"Let's get you out of here," Misty said gently. She would have liked to support Ash, but he supported her just as much, and it was left to Rocketboy and Naomi to guide their Team Leaders back to the waiting Blimp.

**__**

Chapter 4 – Sensational Sisters

Naomi had never felt so helpless in all of her thirteen short years of life. Since the death of that drifter out in the forest, Ash, already acting strangely, had descended into a deep depression. He had even started shouting at _Misty_, who had previously been like the other half of his soul. It was an indication of how deep the Team Leader's trauma was that, for the very first time, Misty had slept in the women's quarters rather than in the room that was technically Ash's private room.

Ash had even started _drinking_ heavily. Finally, she could take no more. She was a loyal member of Team Rocket and liked to consider herself a team player. She wasn't about to let her life get screwed up by her new Team Leader going insane on her.

Taking her life into her hands, she went into the Team Leader's office. "Sir, can I have a word?" she asked.

Ash looked around at the youngest member of his team. He wasn't a pretty sight. He hadn't been sleeping properly for some time now and the alcohol, although it slowed his nerves and thoughts to the point where the pain was dulled, was also delivering the nastiest headaches. "I really don't have the time for this, Naomi," he croaked.

"When… when will you have the time, sir?" Naomi asked. Ash looked at her in shock. "When Misty's heart is broken? When you end up in detention or restricted to a medical ward? Sir, you are coming to pieces, we can all see it!"

"Maybe… it _is none of your business!_" Ash almost screamed.

Naomi quailed back, but she was committed now. "Sir, with all due respect," she blurted, "you are being a… a selfish pig!"

Ash's jaw dropped open in surprise. Naomi continued apace, sure she would die any moment. "We are all in this together," Naomi said. "That is what you told us when we set out, remember? I don't know what has happened to you, but if you can't trust your team to help you, who can you trust? Sir, you have to open up to one of us or we will all end up suffering!"

Ash held the girl's eye for a long moment. "Do you really want to know?" he asked. Naomi held his gaze. She was frightened, but she was determined to help. "Brock Slate, the man I executed yesterday, was once my closest and dearest friend. We shared everything together and were as close as brothers. One day, for reasons I didn't understand until yesterday, he betrayed Misty and I. We were both nearly killed by him and his two allies-in-treason. Four of Team Rocket's most senior agents saved our lives. Because of gratitude, and in recognition of the fact that many of our kin and our dearest friends had turned out to be enemies, we decided to join Team Rocket in a desperate hope that we could find meaning to our lives again. It is a decision we both regret. It has forced me to the point where I stole from one of my friends and murdered another. So as you see, Ms. Athena, I am really not in the best of moods right now."

"Sir, why are you punishing yourself?" Naomi asked. "You made the only choices you had available to you. You are beating yourself for choosing to try to rebuild your life and choosing to honour your oath to the organisation. You can't blame the organisation for what we _have _to do. It is painful, yes, but it is necessary! It is like they tell you in indoctrination: this is a war. We do what we have to for the greater good!"

__

You can always tell a fresh recruit, Ash thought. "'Greater good?' I wonder if there is such a thing," Ash said. "I have a hard time seeing it right now, Naomi."

Naomi sighed and sat down. "Perhaps you are looking too closely," she said. "Stealing and killing, it is wrong. Everyone knows that. But you have to look at the bigger picture, Ash," she continued desperately. "Look at what we are achieving in the way of the organisation's ultimate objectives. 'We are liberators,' that is what they tell us in indoctrination. Instead of bemoaning what you think is wrong, then act to make it right. You have a lot of freedom of action as a Field Team Leader. You can use that to ensure that you can follow your ideals."

Ash was surprised at the girl's incredible passion. Two issues suddenly came foremost in his mind. 'Look at what we are achieving' and 'Follow your ideals.' Could he do that? Before that terrible final confrontation with Brock, it didn't seem so, but now he knew that there was something rotten in the state of Indigo. He also knew that what Giovanni had implied time and time again was _true_, that they _were_ at war. Indeed, it seemed that they were at war with a conspiracy as global and as powerful as Team Rocket itself. 

As to the rest… Well, he had already started to change how he performed field operations to reduce the suffering caused. There were other ideas he had pending the acquisition of the appropriate equipment. Maybe he _was_ concentrating too fiercely on the pain that came from hard choices. Perhaps…

Ash looked up, blushing slightly as he remembered he had a visitor, who had been waiting patiently for him to finish brainstorming. "Naomi, I want to thank you," Ash said after a long pause. "I understand now that I have let myself get too wrapped up on the wrong things that lie in the past. Now, like you say, I want to act make them right in the future." Ash got up from behind his desk and then, much to Naomi's surprise and embarrassment, he kissed her on the cheek. "You are wise for your years," he said.

Ash walked out of his office and winced at the sunlight shining down the hall. Raichu walked up nervously and peered up into his Trainer's face. "Rai-chu-ai-ai-rai-ra-rai, Rai-ai?" [Are you better now, Ash?] he asked. 

Ash laughed and tickled him. "I'm on the way pal," he said. Ash walked down the corridor to the sleeping quarters. "Misty?" he called. The woman stuck her head out of a doorway. "I'm going to _try_ to get some sleep. You're in charge until I can drag myself out of the sack." Misty blinked at his sudden cheer; it was welcome, even if it was a little forced. Ash walked over to her and kissed her gently. "And I'm sorry. I hope that you will forgive me."

Ash walked off. Misty touched her lips in surprise. "Is he okay?" Holly asked from where she was checking some records. Misty didn't answer. She walked off and followed Ash to his room. She locked the door behind her and proved to her lover that she _did_ forgive him.

***

"Like, are you sure this is the right area?" Lily Waterflower asked her older sister, Violet. "This just looks like a small cabin near some sea cliffs to me!"

"Those guys at the 'Big R' Ranch seemed pretty sure," Violet replied. Her scheme was both foolhardy and incredibly courageous. It was well known that the 'Big R' Ranch was involved with Team Rocket somehow, even though the Security Police could never prove it. Taking their lives into their hands, they had gone into the ranch on a pretext, then used Lily's Drowzee and Violet's Psyduck to cloud the workers' minds. From their unguarded comments, they learnt that the new Team Rocket cell operating in the area was based somewhere along the Seashell Coast.

The coast was rocky and generally inhospitable. A few areas had sandy beaches and had large and high-priced beach house developments. That was obviously an area Team Rocket would avoid. Then there were the areas where the Coast Road ran along the cliff-tops. Finally, after more than a little detective work and luck, they had found an old beach house near some cliffs. The more Violet looked at the cliffs through her binoculars, the more it looked _artificial_ somehow.

More than that, however, some instinct told her that the answers to the questions that tormented her awaited her in that small cabin down there.

"We've found them," Violet suddenly said in a tone of certainty. "Now we have to figure out how to get them to lead us to Misty without them killing us first." Both women looked at each other nervously. They were NOT looking forward to this.

***

"Hey, what's that?" Rocketboy asked, leaning forward to look at the monitor in Command & Control.

"What's what?" Buddy asked, turning around too late to see anything.

Rocketboy thought for a moment. "I saw a flash of light out on the western bluffs," he said. "Looked like metal or glass." He moved to another console and his eyebrows shot up to his fringe. "Motion detectors and heat sensors are going wild, we've got intruders."

"What… what do we do?" Buddy asked nervously. He thought of the hidden defensive weaponry of the small base. He also thought of the violence the four field agents were trained to meet out to their enemies.

Rocketboy declined to answer the Technician's question directly. "Keep an eye on those traces," he instructed. "Keep me updated to their position." Rocketboy jumped to his feet and ran up the stairs into the 'cabin.' "Naomi!" he shouted. "Call Ash and Misty, we've got visitors! I'm going to reel 'em in!"

He didn't wait for her confirmation before he was out onto the porch. "Blaze, I choose you!" he shouted, releasing his Charizard.

***

Ash and Misty didn't get much rest after all. They still lay on the bed, naked save a fine film of sweat, their bodies utterly relaxed. "I'm glad you've come out of your shell," Misty said mischievously. Her tone became solemn again. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

"Yes," Ash said. "For the first time, I finally understand a little of what is happening. This was never just about us, Misty. I can see that now. It makes no sense that Professor Oak would risk so much, use such influence and such methods just to help his Grandson become a Master. Something else is happening, and I realise now that Team Rocket may be the only way we can fight it."

"What are you saying?" Misty asked.

"I'm saying," Ash paused and sighed, "that we are going to have to stick with Team Rocket. We have to grin and bear it when Giovanni orders us to steal." Misty was about to interrupt but Ash covered her lips with his fingers. "No random pillage, I promise you that, Misty. But we need the time to find out what that conspiracy Brock heard of actually is. Team Rocket has the resources to fight it. In a way, I think that is the reason it exists. Like it or not, I think we may have dropped by accident onto the good guys' side of the wall."

Misty shook her head. "But Ash… the things we will have to do…"

"Must be endured," Ash finished gently but firmly. "It won't be easy. We will use whatever methods we can to reduce the hurting to a minimum, but sometimes… sometimes you just have no choice but to cut away some healthy flesh to remove the cancer."

"You are certain," Misty said. 

Ash nodded. "Like I said before, from now on we make our own choices, choose our own methods and write our own orders. We will do our duties and _still_ remain true to ourselves." He leaned forward and kissed her again, sealing his oath. Rockets they may be, but that did not mean they had to abandon their ideals.

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. "Sir!" called a young, excited voice. Naomi. "Sir, we've detected intruders within the perimeter! Rocketboy has gone out to get them!"

***

The attack, when it came, was almost too fast for the Waterflower sisters to follow. There was a roar of wind and a fire-red object shot overhead at incredible speed. Its' slipstream threw both women forward. Before they could recover enough to even think of using one of their Pokémon to defend themselves, a massive grey-black flying reptile soared towards them from nowhere.

"Jurassic," called a voice, "Sleep." The Aerodactyl's eyes flared a bright green colour and the universe went away.

Rocketboy walked away from where Blaze sat patiently. He recalled Jurassic and looked at the two unconscious (and _very_ beautiful, he noted) women. He suddenly realised that in his perfectly executed surprise attack, he had forgotten one critical element. "Hey, how am I supposed to get these two back to the base?" he asked himself. He could be wrong, but he had the strangest impression that Blaze was laughing at him.

***

"And next time, Rocketboy, hesitate in your death-or-glory charge long enough to consider taking them _conscious_," hissed a male voice. Violet winced.

"Yes sir…" another male voice replied, sounding a bit chagrined. Violet grimaced. _Be quiet!_ she wailed silently. _Like, I've got a headache from hell!_

"You know," a kind female voice said from much closer by, "I do think they are recovering."

"About time," the first voice said. "Misty, are you sure about this?"

"It's them all right, Ash," said a blessedly familiar female voice. 

There was a long pause before the first female voice spoke again. "Violet," she said. "Violet, can you open your eyes for me please, dear?" Violet winced in anticipation of the pain, but still managed to open her eyes. She blinked fiercely for a few moments to clear her vision and saw a pleasant blond-haired woman with intelligent and caring blue eyes looking down at her. She raised a hand. "How many fingers am I holding up, Violet?"

"Like… just the four, you've got your thumb tucked in." Violet said in confusion.

"She's all right, Ash," the woman said to someone out of Violet's view. "No concussion, no lasting neurological injury from that Sleep attack."

Two new faces moved into Violet's view. First was a man, tall and strong with thoughtful chocolate brown eyes. There were the signs of recent stress, but whatever it was, the humour and essential kindness in his eyes was undimmed.

The second was a woman. Tall, athletic and beautiful; her face was framed with long ginger-red hair. Caring and worried emerald green eyes looked down at her. The high cheekbones, the wide but full lips… "Misty… Misty, please let it be you," Violet said quietly.

"It's me, Sis," Misty said, smiling gently. "I won't say I'm not glad to see you, but you and Lily picked a hell of a time to visit."

Violet swallowed. "If it is you," she said, "tell me what you used to call me when you were little." 

Misty blushed and Ash, for it had to be him, looked at her in confusion. "I… oh God," Misty stuttered. "I never could handle sibilants when I was a kid. I called you 'Big Didter Two.'"

Ash grinned maliciously and Misty blushed even more deeply. "No one outside our family knows that," Violet said. She threw herself off of the examination table and into her baby sister's arms. Both women began to cry. "It _is_ you!" Violet sobbed. "Oh thank God, you're alive… you're alive… you're alive."

***

Violet and Lily soon found themselves installed in the lounge of the Team Rocket base. They looked supremely uncomfortable around the six people in paramilitary uniform. "So, ladies," Ash said in a cautious fashion, "to what do we owe this visit? Considering how difficult it must have been to even find us…"

Lily snapped out of her trance. She had been rather busy watching Ash move. She hadn't seen him for four years, after all, and he had metamorphosed from 'cute' to 'hunk.' _It's a pity Misty has got there first_, she thought irreverently. "We… like, we wanted to know if you were still alive," Lily said at last.

Violet took up the story. In a surprisingly short time, she revealed to the Rockets how Daisy fell deeper and deeper into darkness after her marriage to Gary Oak. She also explained how, after the attack on the League Headquarters Building, she had become convinced that Misty was still alive. "Like, I couldn't let it rest," she concluded. "If you were still alive, then it meant everything Daisy and Gary were saying was a lie. I had to find out… and now I know."

"Yeah," Ash said gently. "Now you know. The question is, what are you going to do about it?"

Rocketboy tensed. Ash _couldn't_ just let these two civilians leave, now that they knew the location of the base. Even thinking about challenging a Team Leader went against the grain, but he wasn't going to let Ash's weird ideas screw up his life.

"Um…" Violet said uncertainly. "We wanted to know if you understood why Daisy and Gary lied."

Ash looked at Misty. "Perhaps you should explain," he said. _Somehow_, Ash thought, _it might be easier coming from her_.

By the end of Misty's story, her two sisters were in tears. The story of betrayal, cruelty and evil was enough to move any heart. Misty left out the moral torments she and Ash were increasingly facing. If all went well, Ash's new determination would make that a thing of the past. "Like… this explains so much…" Lily wailed. "Daisy gave me your Starmi… but he _wasn't_ your Starmi. He didn't remember you, and he didn't know any of the attacks or defences you taught him!"

"But _why?_" Violet sobbed. "I don't understand _why_."

Ash sighed. "I had hoped you would be able to tell us," Ash said gently. It was painful, but the two women had a need to know. "Yesterday… we ran into Brock Slate for the first time in years. He was able to tell us a little about what's being going on at the Cascade Gym."

"Yeah, he was creepy for those few months he was there," Violet said. "For a while it was 'Yes Daisy,' and 'Yes Gary.' Then he started getting confused and one day he was gone! They said he had been stealing, but I know he wasn't."

"Brock was as much of a victim as us," Ash explained. "Gary and Daisy drugged him and forced him to do things that tore him apart inside. He… well let's just say that he's free of that now. He'll never be hurt again." Violet guessed what that meant. She even got a tiny hint of 'how' in the tear that trickled down Ash's face and the way Misty hugged him briefly and whispered a word of comfort. After a moment, Ash could continue. "Brock told us that Gary and Daisy are mixed up in something big, something _very_ big that goes beyond what they did to us. It also involves Professor Oak in Pallet Town, and maybe even the League Commission itself. I was hoping that you could shed some extra light on that."

"Like, we don't know anything," Violet said with a helpless shrug. "Daisy keeps us at arm's length. Gary doesn't even like us being in the Gym."

"Yeah," Lily added, "we don't have anything to do with the management of the Gym any more."

Ash hummed thoughtfully. It was a pity they didn't know anything, but it wasn't a surprise really.

"Hey! Like, I forgot!" Lily suddenly shouted, making everyone else jump. "There is one thing that is kind of odd. Just after Gary moved in, about two months before your 'deaths,' the League installed a new computer system in the Gym. The funny thing is though, we don't have access to most of the system. Gary and Daisy never access any of that stuff when we're around, and the main server room is under constant guard."

Ash sat up straight, hope suddenly blooming in his heart. "And there are all those UNGC memos that Gary receives," Violet added. "Classified stuff! Like, it gets delivered by Peacekeeper couriers _by hand_." Ash's expression took on an excitement that effected everyone in the room.

"A new computer system with classified files," he repeated. "And classified memos too… all when Gary started living there…" Ash grinned. "You know, I think that most of our answers are right there, waiting to be found. Ladies, you've already been very brave. Now I need your help. Can you get us past security and into the Gym? If we can get hold of that stuff, it might really let us do some damage!"

Violet and Lily naturally hesitated at the thought of helping Ash plan a terrorist operation. Rocketboy saved them the trouble of replying. "Sir, I protest!" he said. "They are civilians, not even part of the organisation! You _can't _be thinking of involving them in a special operation."

"Yes I can," Ash replied.

"Sir, at least clear this with Headquarters," Rocketboy pleaded.

Ash shook his head. "I'd normally agree," Ash said, "but Headquarters takes forever to decide on this kind of stuff. We should act as soon as possible."

"Sir, this could be a trap," Naomi added urgently. "What reason do you have to trust them?"

Misty was about to explode at the girl, but Ash forestalled her with a touch to her hand. "What about it, ladies?" he asked, turning to Lily and Violet. "Why should we trust you?"

Lily looked at Violet and nudged her. "Like, we brought you a gift," Violet said gently. "Only one of your Pokémon seemed to be anything like normal. He said crazy stuff about a fight and people trying to steal away who he was. It didn't make sense before now." Violet reached behind her and pulled out a red-and-white Pokéball. Seeing this, Rocketboy and Naomi tensed and reached for Pokéballs of their own. "He was the one who first told me you were alive, Misty," Violet said. "He was sure from the first moment. I never told Daisy, I suppose I kind of guessed that she and Gary would try to destroy him. It's only right that I return him now."

Violet activated the ball. A white flash of light resolved itself into a familiar shape that threw itself towards Misty with an excited cry of "Psy-yi-yi!"

Misty gasped with amazement and joy as she stooped to hug Psyduck. "Oh Psyduck, it would _have_ to be you who would survive Rehab!" She looked up at her sisters with a hint of tears in her eyes. "Thank you for not letting them destroy him."

"I couldn't have," Violet said. "He is your friend." She smiled gently. "He will confirm everything I've said."

***

"Sir, I still don't like this," Rocketboy protested as Ash handed him an M-21A1 assault rifle from the armoury. "This flies in the face of all our procedures. First you defy The Boss, then you start finding alternatives to normal Pokémon acquisition and now you are going to launch an assault on a major Gym without clearance! You could get us all disciplined or even dismissed!"

Ash looked at the veteran Black Rocket levelly. "Rocketboy, we've been over this," Ash said. "We've got to get that information. It is of the highest importance to the organisation; you know this. If I'm right, we are about to blow the top off a conspiracy that affects every Trainer in the region. Can you imagine what we could do with that sort of information?" Rocketboy pursed his lips and shook his head. Ash grinned and thumped his arm. "My old mom always said: 'It is better to ask forgiveness than seek permission.'"

"Did she?" Misty asked from where she was checking the breach on her G11 assault rifle. 

"No," Ash admitted as he pulled on his white kevlar vest with its' Team Rocket sigil, "but she would have if she had been in this situation."

"Sir, I must _formally_ protest about this course of action," Rocketboy said through his teeth.

Ash looked at the other man again. "Well that is your prerogative," Ash replied. "Let's put it this way, Rocketboy. If you feel _that _strongly that Misty and I are overstepping the bounds, then you should arrest us immediately and hand us over to Internal Affairs for discipline. If you don't feel strongly enough to do that, then I suggest you are just nervous."

Rocketboy scowled but knew he was cornered. He submitted with as much ill grace as he could muster. "I am going to name my first ulcer after you, Ash," he muttered darkly.

At that moment, something happened that didn't do _anything_ for his stomach's acid balance. Naomi led Lily and Violet into the armoury area. Both women's hair was tied back into a neat braid and they were wearing a black uniform with kevlar body armour. Rocketboy groaned when he saw the Team Rocket sigil over the two ladies' hearts. 

"Like, I feel weird," Lily said.

"I think you look human at last," Ash replied. "Have either of you fired a gun before?" The ladies swallowed and shook their heads almost in unison. Ash smiled reassuringly and handed them both a snub-nosed .38" police revolver. "I don't expect you to have to use these," he said as he handed them a box of .38" bullets each. "It is just a precaution."

"Like, I'm not sure I know how," Violet admitted.

"It's simple," Misty said with a little too much cheer. "No safety on the piece. If someone gets in your way, point the gun at the person and keep pulling the trigger until they _aren't_ in the way anymore."

Violet went pale and Lily swallowed as she regarded the gun like a venomous snake.

***

"This is the central junction box?" Naomi wanted to know. She, Violet and Misty were crouched by an electronics box high up in the Cascade Gym's atrium. They had gained entrance through the building's glass dome.

"Yeah," Violet whispered. "All the security cameras and motion detector alarms are routed through here. I've listened to Gary complain when the system fritzes out."

"I can't believe there isn't a redundant system," Naomi complained quietly.

"Remember this is a civilian Gym," Misty reminded the girl. "It was never designed to be secure. According to Lily and Violet, all the extra security around the Servers is controlled from a separate room."

As Misty kept watch, Naomi began to rewire the cameras and motion detectors so that the security guards would see only what they wanted to see: an empty, secure Gym.

***

"Like, hi there!" The Peacekeeper security watch commander looked up from his coffee with some surprise. He smiled at Mrs. Oak's pretty youngest sister.

"Miss Lily," he said. "It's good to see you! What are you doing up tonight?"

"Oh, I'm just not sleeping well," Lily said. She walked, no, _slinked_, into the special security room for the computer system, using every feminine wile she knew to keep the guard hypnotised by her movements. She paused in the centre of the room in front of the control desk and looked around casually, confirming that all the standard cameras were showing the false image and also confirming that there was only one guard on the Server Room door.

"You know, I could get in a lot of trouble letting you in here," the guard commander said. "Mr. Oak doesn't like having you and your sister around."

"No he doesn't," Lily allowed. Suddenly she had her .38" revolver out of its' holster and levelled at the guard's face. "Like, guess what? He was right," she hissed. "Reach for the sky, doggie soldier!"

The guard was utterly amazed by this and could only open and close his mouth like a landed Magicarp. Then he saw the stylised red 'R' in a red ring over Lily's heart and his brain went into drive. He lunged towards the alarm button, but something seized him and hoisted him into the air. Rose-Roar slammed the guard's head against the wall a few times and dropped him to the ground.

"That was dumb," Ash said. "Wait for me, next time!"

"Like, this is all the thanks I get for helping you guys out?" Lily asked with a pout.

Ash rolled his eyes as he recalled his Ivysaur. Ash quickly used the controls to shut down every alarm and automatic detector in and around the server room. Then he raised his silenced M-21A1 assault rifle and emptied a full clip of .22" explosive bullets into the console, making it impossible to turn them _on_ again.

***

The Peacekeeper guard outside of the Server Room in the Cascade Gym was bored and tired. It was three in the morning, and he was starting to jump at shadows. He had already almost dozed off once before. It was _stupid_ keeping a guy up all night. Yeah, dumb. No one was about to attack; maybe… maybe he _should _try to get some sleep…

Ash caught the man before he could hurt himself by tumbling to the ground. "Nice job, Kadabra," he congratulated his psi-type quietly. "Over to you, Rocketboy!"

Rocketboy slid over and began to work on the lock. It was a simple enough electronic lock, using either a magnetic strip reader or a numerical keypad. Normally, they would break the combination, but with security neutralised, there was no need for subtlety. Rocketboy exposed a small plastic card to the air and it began to smoke, acids becoming active. He put it in the strip reader and the electronics shorted out. The door swung open and the server room was breached and ready for the plucking.

"I want full and decrypted copies of files, remember," Ash instructed his team. As soon as he was sure they were handling matters properly, he touched Misty on the arm. She nodded and Ash turned to the oldest of the Waterflower sisters. "Violet, keep guard," he instructed. "Misty and I… uh… have something to do. We'll be back before the others are finished."

Violet felt incredibly excited. She pulled out her pistol and posed like the lady cops on her favourite TV shows. No one would get past _her_.

"Hey, where are they going?" Lily asked.

Violet watched Ash and Misty heading towards the Gym Leader's residence and felt the fear snake slither around her guts. "Like, I don't want to know," she replied.

***

Gary and Daisy were in their bed together, sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, Gary awoke, sensing something was wrong. Daisy was lying beside him, her arm flung across his chest. She might be smaller than he was, but she inevitably took up more space in their king-sized bed. Gary looked around and saw shadows in the bedroom. _Moving_ shadows. He tried to get up, but suddenly realised that he _couldn't_. He was tied town with some kind of webbing that covered the entire bed.

Something huge and spider-like dropped down onto the bed from the roof with a hiss of "Traaap-doooom!" The spider-like Pokémon's sudden arrival awoke Daisy, who screamed. No one responded, of course. According to the chief of security, next morning, Gary and Daisy were both still sound asleep according to his board.

Gary tried to struggle, but he only became more tangled up in the webbing. Daisy screamed again and began to whimper pitifully. "Shh, Daisy," a feminine voice murmured, "you'll wake the neighbours."

The moving shadows walked into the moonlight and Gary saw something from his worst nightmares. Never again would he believe that he had done the job. Never again would he believe his grandpa was crazy. Never again would he believe that Team Rocket had a pair of duplicates of Ash and Misty. "Ash?" he whispered. "Ash? Is it you?"

"You were expecting perhaps the ghost of Jacob Marley?" Ash asked dryly.

Misty, looking stunning in her heavily modified uniform, slinked over to Daisy and sat beside her. "Hi, big Sis," she said mockingly.

"M… Misty? You're alive?" Daisy whimpered.

"Yep," Misty said with a sneer, "you couldn't even get a murder done right! Whatever would Mom and Dad say?"

"Why are you here?" Gary asked, his face pale.

"Oh, the usual stuff," Ash said. "You know, revenge, rape, murder. The sort of stuff you two seem to enjoy when it happens to other people."

"Please… please don't hurt me Misty…" Daisy pleaded with her sister. "It was all Gary's idea, him and his grandpa!"

"Oh we know," Ash said gently. "I'm just here to deliver a message, Gary. Make sure you pass it on to your dear granddaddy. I know _everything_. And when I am finished, you and your grandpa are going to wish that I killed you instead." Ash smiled in a way that made Gary grimace and try to sink into his mattress. "You have only achieved one thing with your barbarity, Mr. Oak. You've made enemies who are going to _bring you down_."

Gary tried to find some bravado to wave around. "You have no idea what you are dealing with, Ash," he hissed. "If you are smart, you and your bitch are going to slide back underneath your Team Rocket stone and try to forget you ever came out."

"Oh!" Ash said, wincing, "wrong thing to say, Gary!" Ash was suddenly standing in between them in the centre of the bed. His Auto-Nine was right at Gary's face, making the man whimper and cower back. "Eenie," Ash said. He pointed the gun at Daisy, "Meenie," Ash said. Daisy shrieked, on the edge of hysteria and began to cry, shouting that she would do anything, _anything_ so long as Ash would promise not to kill her. Ash turned the gun back to Gary, "Mynee…" There was a long pause before Ash, who allowed his eyes to grow wide and his face to take on a psychotic sheen, said "Mo!" The roar of the Auto-Nine on burst fire mode was _very_ loud in the bedroom. Three bullets punched through the mattress between Daisy and Gary. Daisy screamed again, more loudly than ever and kept on screaming hysterically. Gary felt wetness spreading out from between his legs and realised that he had wet himself.

Ash stood back with a contemptuous laugh. "So much for the 'great Pokémon Master' and his virtuous wife," Ash sneered. "Give me Team Rocket any day. We might be thieves and terrorists, but at least we don't try to dress it up in hero's clothing."

Misty was still leaning over her big sister, her long, cruel survival knife waving over the older woman's face. "Ash," she complained in a childish whine, "you promised me I could have her nose!" Somehow, Misty was keeping herself from laughing. This act was so out-of-character, yet Daisy and Gary seemed to be buying it hook, line and sinker.

"Now, now, Misty," Ash said. "What have I told you about mutilating people without giving them a chance to talk first?" Misty pouted. "Oh, what was your restricted access password again, Daisy?" Ash asked in a reasonable tone of voice.

"Water Queen!" Daisy screamed. "W-A-T-E-R, underscore, Q-U-E-E-N!"

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" Gary shouted.

Ash jumped forward and punched him in the face. "I'll warn you only once more, Gary. Don't cuss at a lady," Ash said reprovingly. "Admittedly, your whore isn't much of a lady, but she'll have to do right now."

Daisy moaned as Ash smiled at her carnivorously. Misty had no doubt whatsoever that Daisy would do anything at all to prevent Ash from hurting her. She shook her head in contempt at how her eldest sister had so totally sunk into the depths. "I think we have everything we need," she remarked.

Ash pulled himself out of his anger and nodded. "You're right, Misty," he said. "Besides, I've got to get the stink of petty betrayal and cowardice out of my lungs. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Oak, for your co-operation. Team Rocket is in your debt." He and Misty turned to leave.

"Ash! What about this damn webbing?" Gary shouted.

"Oh, Trapdoom's Web Net attack usually disintegrates after an hour or so," Ash said. "Just sit tight. You two might even get to enjoy it!" Ash waggled his eyebrows Groucho-style. He and Misty left. The only sound in the room was now Gary's quick, shallow and panicked breaths, and Daisy's sobs.

***

"Like, you haven't hurt anyone, have you Ash?" Violet asked with a scowl.

"Me? Hurt anyone?" he asked with a fair imitation of wounded innocence. He was leafing through an interesting series of classified memoranda that he had taken from a safe in Daisy's office.

"Hardly, Violet," Misty said with a roll of her eyes. "We just let Gary and Daisy know we were keeping our eye on them, that's all."

"Hey, Boss!" Naomi called. The girl walked out and presented Ash with a bag of filled memory units. "It was a big job, but we've got it decrypted and we've got it all."

"That's good," Ash said with a broad smile. "Come on, people, let's get out of here before the rent-a-cops wake up."

**__**

Chapter 5 – Shades of Grey

"_It was them, Grandpa!_" Gary insisted. His eyes were wide and exited. "_They broke into the Gym and stole virtually everything regarding the Project! It was incredible, they have changed so completely!_"

"Shut up!" Professor Oak snapped. "Shut up you impossible _idiot_! I know it was them; you are probably the only person on earth who believed that ridiculous story about Team Rocket creating duplicates of Ketchum and Waterflower." Oak pulled at his bottom lip nervously. He knew that this day would have come eventually, but he had never expected the Chosen One's first move to be so ambitious and so decisive. "Gary, I want you and Daisy out of that Gym by the end of today," Oak announced. "I want you both in Pallet so we can decide how we are going to respond to this."

"_How _we_ are going to respond?_" Gary asked. "_No, no. Forget it Grandpa, there is no 'we.' I've never been part of your conspiracy, no matter how you've tried to pull me in._"

Oak grunted contemptuously. "Don't kid yourself, Gary," Oak said. "You've been more than willing to be part of the Project when you needed our help and when you wanted to enjoy the fruits of our power. You can't pick and choose when you are part of it at this late date."

"_If you think I am going to join in your war and fight against that psychotic…_"

"GARY!" Oak snapped. His grandson fell silent and paled in fear. Oak smiled. _Looks like you've still got it when it counts, Sammy-boy_, he told himself. "Gary, you are in. You are ours body and soul and you have been ever since you solicited our help to deal with Ketchum and Waterflower. You can either fight willingly, or you can go to jail. Your choice." Before Gary could reply, Oak cut the videophone connection and scowled. He had no doubt that Gary would obey. For all his bravado, his strutting around and playing the Pokémon Master, the boy was a coward and Ash's determination had exposed that to the core.

Oak sat back from his desk and covered his eyes. He had to prepare a counter move before the Chosen One could make use of his plunder. He had to think… he had to think…

***

Ash was sitting in the communications bunker, trying to understand what he was reading in the classified UNGC memos his team had stolen from the Cascade Gym. Despite the pleasant climate-controlled warmth of the underground office, he felt a distinct chill.

A lot of what he read was in a kind of code. Holly told him that there were references to Pokémon biochemistry and several common procedures used in rejuvenating injured Pokémon. There were also continual references to secret UN Security Council resolutions dating back to the discovery of the Kanto Islands back in 1999 and repeated mention of something referred to as simply the 'Project.'

"Sir," Buddy announced, "I have some interesting data here from the historical files." 

Ash stood up and walked over to the technician. He had been going through the stolen data, especially looking in the 'History' directories for mention of previous major operations. Ash had hoped that he could tie in the 'Project' with events in the real world. It might give him some clue as to what was going on. "What have you got, Buddy,"

"It is a saved version of an email memorandum from a user named 'Pallet1,' sir," Buddy explained. 

Ash nodded. "That is probably Professor Samuel Oak. What is it about, Buddy?"

"The date is 3rd October 2052, sir," Buddy continued. "It makes a direct reference to all the weird weather phenomenon that took place in the late summer of that year. Listen to this: 'After the defeat of our agent, The Collector, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the young man referred to in my memorandum SSO/Secret/51/0224 is, indeed the prophesied "Chosen One." I cannot emphasise to the committee enough the potential threat that this individual poses to the Project and its' ultimate goals. If this one were to attain to his full powers as a Trainer, then he may destroy everything this Project hopes to achieve and unleash upon the world the chaos it was instituted to prevent.'" Buddy shook his head in amazement. "It sound like something from a comic book! What could this be about?"

"Well, the 3rd October 2052 was the day after I freed the three Legendary Birds from Laurence III," Ash said. "He must be 'The Collector.' So! He was working _with_ Oak all along. That would explain why he was so shocked that a Trainer from Pallet Town was opposing him…"

Buddy looked up in some confusion. "Sir, do you know what this means?"

Ash didn't reply. He understood a little too clearly. 'The Chosen One;' That is what Lugia called him. At the time, a 12-year-old Ash Ketchum didn't understand what that meant, and in his innocence he reported the conversation verbatim to his tutor and surrogate father, Professor Oak. "Buddy, run a search string for any more mention of 'The Chosen One' and download any message or data file that comes up to my personal buffer," Ash ordered. He threw the uninformative memoranda aside and strode out of the chamber.

***

In a small forest clearing a short distance from the base, three young women stood together. One was wearing a white uniform with a black armband, and the other two were wearing dark dresses. After a moment, the woman in white knelt and placed a bunch of flowers against the small marker stone over the patch of recently turned earth. 

The marker stone had a simple inscription: 

Brock Slate; 2042-2069;

Free at last.

This memorial erected by his friends, Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower.

"Like… he must have hurt so much," Violet said through her tears. "If only we knew, we could have helped him."

"I think… I think he was beyond any human's help," Misty said gently. She placed her fingers to her lips and placed her kiss on the marker stone. "Rest in peace, old friend," she whispered.

After a long, contemplative moment, Misty stood up. "So," she said at last, "have you two decided what you are going to do yet?"

Lily shrugged. "Well, we can't go back to the Gym," she said. "Like, Gary has probably got our faces on 'wanted' posters from one side of the continent to the other by now. Besides, I certainly never want to see _her_ again." She was referring to Daisy.

Violet scowled. "I want to make them pay," she said. "I want them to pay for all the horrible things they've done." Lily looked at her thoughtfully and then nodded in agreement.

"Well then," Misty said with a slight smile, "perhaps I can help you…" Suddenly her walkie-talkie crackled. She pulled it off of her utility belt. "Yeah, go," she said.

"_Misty_," Ash said, "_it's worse than I even imagined. I need you all back at the base immediately_."

***

"_Ash, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, I cannot condone you undertaking such a risky operation without first clearing it with the Inner Council,_" Giovanni was saying from the communications screen. The man shook his head in disbelief. "_Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in? How much danger you put _all_ of us in?_"

Ash frowned and noted the vindicated look shot at him by Rocketboy. He also saw Misty's barely concealed grin at his discomfort. "I was aware of the risks, Boss," he admitted at last. "But I felt that the potential benefits far outweighed them." Ash shook some of the stolen memos at the screen. "We have proof here of a conspiracy to control the Pokémon of the Kanto region that goes as far as the UN Security Council!"

Giovanni rolled his eyes. "_Has it ever occurred to you that we already know about this, Ash?_" he asked. "_We have been aware of this since its' inception. It is one of the reasons why Team Rocket exists._"

Ash's response was completely different from the one Giovanni expected. He grinned at him. "I guessed that, Boss," Ash said with a laugh. "But from what Brock told me, I have somehow got involved in their plans. I have found repeated mention to me in several memoranda and tactical simulations. It's quite flattering, really." Ash deliberately left out the bit about being 'The Chosen One.' He didn't know what to think about that himself quite yet, and he certainly did not feel comfortable discussing that with the Boss.

"_You are involved by name?_" Giovanni asked, surprised. Ash nodded. "_Now that was unexpected, but in retrospect perhaps it shouldn't have been. I assume you are going to send the data to our intelligence unit?_"

"Of course sir," Ash said. "I've also got my most recent patrol report and a little something extra." Giovanni raised an eyebrow and waited for the White Rocket to continue. "I encountered a novice who had captured an Eightlegz."

"_Really?_" Giovanni said excitedly. "_Well, I look forward to seeing it in action!_"

"You will see a _lot_ of them in action," Ash told him. He raised the DNA sample slide he took from Jace Dillon's Eightlegz.

"_What is that?_"

"A DNA slide, Boss," Ash said. "From this you can clone any number of Eightlegz."

There was a long pause. "_Ash,_" Giovanni said, letting the sarcasm into his voice, "_did it occur to you that it might have been simpler just to steal the damn thing?_"

"Simpler? Yes," Ash said. "But better? I don't think so. Sir, Team Rocket is viewed as little more than a band of scavengers by most Trainers. I intend to change that."

"_You are not a policy maker, Mr. Ketchum,_" Giovanni warned.

Ash swallowed, but Misty grabbed his hand out of view of the camera and it gave him the strength to follow his determination. "Perhaps, sir, but I swore an oath to uphold the best interests of the organisation. I am doing that as best as I can."

"_So you are refusing to take Pokémon when ordered to do so?_" Giovanni asked, his voice dangerously bland.

"No," Ash replied, "I will take any Pokémon you _specifically_ order me to do so. However, as a routine, I will not simply take any Trainer's friends away on the grounds that they _may_ be useful." Ash let his passion leak into his voice. "I have experienced that pain, sir, and I am damned if I am going to inflict it on anyone else."

There was a long pause while Giovanni chewed over that. "_This is about Richie Yeager's Charizard, isn't it?_" he asked at last.

"Partly sir," Ash admitted, "but I have been working towards this for some time. Sir, I will remain loyal to Team Rocket, but I am not heartless. I will not inflict random pain because it makes our research section's lives easier."

Giovanni scowled. "_Unfortunately, I cannot discipline you for that, Mr. Ketchum,_" he spat. "_You have, in effect, taken all we really need from that Eightlegz, so I would never be able to sustain a charge of dereliction of duty._" There was a long pause while Giovanni searched Ash and Misty's faces for a hint of fear or uncertainty. There was none. "_Very well,_" he snapped, "_I will accept your… modification of normal procedure, but do not take this as licence, Ash._" Giovanni's voice became laden with menace. "_I will not tolerate open insubordination or disloyalty. Is that clear?_"

"Clear, sir," Ash said without a hint of penitence.

Giovanni shook his head. It was almost as bad as trying to keep Butch and Cassidy reined in. _"With reference to Mr. Yeager,_" Giovanni said, "_I have a small package that needs to be delivered to him. He should still be in the area, so you can do it for me._"

Ash looked at the teleportation apparatus. There was a hum and a crackle of ozone. A Master-type Pokéball materialised. Ash recognised it immediately. "This is the Pokéball I used to capture Zippo," he said. He showed it to Misty who nodded in agreement, her expression confused. Ash returned to the screen. "What do you want done with this, Boss?" he asked curiously. Several awful possibilities occurred to him.

"_Please return it to Mr. Yeager with the organisation's thanks,_" Giovanni said. "_We have no further use for his Pokémon at this time._"

Ash's mouth dropped open. "Uh…" he said stupidly.

Giovanni shook his head again. "_Ash,_" he said with a sigh, "_what do you think we do with these high-level Pokémon we steal?_"

"Well, I assumed that we kept them and that they were issued as needed to our agents, sir," Ash replied.

"_That would be pointless,_" Giovanni responded. "_High-level Pokémon have all developed such a bond with their Trainers that they could never be coerced to work with anyone else_." Giovanni smiled. "_Of course, we _could_ rehabilitate them, but that would defeat the object as it would return them to Experience Level 0 and destroy all those skills that our field agents went to so much trouble to acquire._"

"So," Ash said in an incredulous tone, "if Jessie and James had stolen my Pikachu, they would have returned him eventually?" Ash was completely taken aback by this revelation.

Giovanni laughed. "_He would have been returned, yes,_" he confirmed. "_We would have examined him, sampled his DNA for cloning and recorded how he performed his unique attacks and defences so that we could teach our own electric-types those tricks. Then we would have sent him back to you. We have hundreds of different clandestine methods for such a task. In this case, however, given how this whole incident seems to have affected your attitude, I thought you might want to do the job yourself._" Ash smiled in gratitude and nodded. Giovanni's smile took on a tired aspect. _"I thought that you could trust me, trust _us_, Ash,_" he said in disappointment. "_Do not write us off as villains. We do what we must, but we are not wicked people, you know._"

"I'll… try to bear that in mind," Ash said. Giovanni nodded and cut off the transmission. 

Ash looked at Misty and saw her happy smile. "You did it, Ash," she said.

"_I_ did it?" Ash asked. "I completely misjudged the organisation and nearly drove us into the wilderness! What did I do?"

"You forced a concession about stealing ordinary Pokémon," Misty reminded her lover, "and got him to accept your right to act autonomously. We have taken a long step forward today, love."

***

Giovanni paced around his office restlessly. His conversation with Ash haunted him. He did not know what the boy was getting up to, but Giovanni was deathly afraid that he and Misty were slipping out of control. Matters were too far advanced to allow such a disaster to take place _now_. He had to be sure that they would be reliable at the critical moment. They were _so_ much like Joe and Miyamoto it was giving Giovanni a bad case of Déjà vu. What was worse was that Ash was questioning the moral underpinning of the cause. 

Giovanni shook his head. He had to make sure that he could keep them both in line. He had to make sure he wasn't losing them. He reached out and toggled open his intercom. "_Communications_," a voice replied.

"Open a channel to Team White Bravo," Giovanni ordered. "I have a new mission for Jessie and James."

***

Marina Jjones had never worried for her lover's soul and sanity as much as she had done now. Ever since that horrible day, less than half a week past, when Ash and Misty stole away poor Zippo, Richie had been in a violent rage. He had sworn that he would recover his friend, even if he had to take that Master Ball from the dead hand of the leader of Team Rocket himself.

Marina barely knew her lover anymore. He had become uncommunicative and violent. He had refused to talk to her and discuss his pain. He had taken to keeping apart from her and suggesting that she go home rather than be risked in his quest.

Finally, she lost her temper and had her Golduck use a Sleep attack on him. The man had to rest before he fell down. Now he was slowly recovering. "Wha…" Richie moaned. "What happened?"

"I put you to sleep before you fell down," Maria replied tartly. "Now, are you going to eat something?"

"I… I've been sleeping?" Richie gasped. "How long?"

Marina shrugged. "I don't know, maybe eight hours?"

Richie screamed incoherently and slapped the bowl of soup she was offering him from her hand. "Eight hours?" he yelled. "Eight hours? You silly woman! Do you have any idea how far away Ash could have got with Zippo in that time?" Richie jumped to his feet and tried to start running in a mad pursuit. However, hunger got the best of him and he tripped over his own feet.

Marina rushed over to him. "Richie!" she shouted in distress.

"Get… get off of me," Richie sobbed. "Let me get after him! You bitch; you're one of them! Aren't you?" He slapped Marina with all of his strength and she fell.

There was a long pause filled only by the sound of Marina's sobs. Richie fell to his knees beside her. "Oh God, what have I done?" he asked. "Marina… I… I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Marina looked up and saw the suffering etched on Richie's face. However, she also saw the love there too. She got up and hugged him. "I forgive you," she whispered. "Poor, darling Richie. You are suffering so badly, aren't you?"

"I can only think about what poor Zippo must be going through," Richie grated, on the edge of tears himself. "What those _bastards_ must be doing to him. He was my first, Marina. He is my closest friend and I am afraid I will go mad if I can't get him back."

"You will," Marina said. "I am sure you will find him, even if Ash doesn't keep his promise."

There was a long pause. Richie looked at Marina in surprise and then snorted. "His 'promise' is nothing but hot air, Marina," he said hopelessly. "You can't trust Team Rocket."

Suddenly someone cleared his or her throat loudly. Richie looked up and saw a familiar figure in a white Team Rocket uniform. "Ash!" he hissed. He stumbled to his feet and pulled out a Pokéball. "I don't know why you are here, and I don't care! Tell me where Zippo is or I will _tear_ it out of you one scream at a time!"

Ash smiled slightly, even though he was screaming inside at the torment his friend was clearly experiencing. "Spare me the stereotypical heroics, Richie," he replied. He pulled out the Master Ball and held it up to the firelight. "As I promised, I am now returning him to you." Ash threw the Pokéball forward and it split open. A flash of white light resolved itself into Zippo, who rushed forward and grabbed Richie in his powerful arms, dangerous in his delight at seeing his Trainer again.

"Aargh! Zippo… get off… can't breathe!" Richie gasped.

"What have you done to him?" Marina shouted angrily, trying to prize the dragon off. "Have you turned him into some kind of slave?"

Zippo groaned in shame and released Richie. Instead he began to stroke his metre-long head against Richie's face, making the man chuckle. "He… he's all right," Richie said in disbelief. "He remembers me… and he isn't hurt!" Richie looked at Ash in gratitude as Marina, also crying, hugged both dragon and Trainer. "Thank you, Ash," Richie said through his tears. "I know what a risk you are taking, doing this."

"No risk, Richie," Ash responded with a smile and a shake of his head. "We don't hurt special Pokémon like Zippo. We learn from them, then return them to their friends. That is the way we always operate." Richie looked at him in disbelief. "As I told you before, Richie, there is no good or evil in this world, only shades of grey." 

Ash turned to leave, but first he had a parting shot for Richie, over his shoulder. "The good guys and the bad guys aren't always who and what you think, Richie," Ash called. "Think about that very carefully, old friend. Choose your side with both eyes open. I hope that you make the right choice."

__

To be continued…

****

Next Time on _Team Rocket Neo..._

Jessie looked around the base's main hanger with a definite patronising air. "Why Ash dear," she said with a smirk, "we've been sent here to make sure you _are_ still loyal to Team Rocket!"

…

"My dear Mrs. Ketchum," the man in black said to the terrified Delilah, "you have no idea how important you are. Where you are, your son will shortly come. And when we have him, we will control him." The man laughed sadistically. "And he who controls The Chosen One controls the _future_."

…

Ash stared at Tracey's broken body with a sick sense of horror. Everyone who got close to him seemed to end up being hurt. Sometimes just keeping breathing was difficult. "Ash…" Tracey whispered.

"Yeah, buddy?" Ash asked, moving his head closer.

"They… they took Delilah…" Tracey gasped. "I'm sorry I couldn't look after her for you…"

…

Ash slid the 40-round magazine into his rifle and pulled back the cocking lever. "Jessie," he said with simple certainty, "I am going to rescue my mother and God help anyone who stands in the way. So, you can either help, or you can get out of my way because I am getting very bad at telling friend from foe these days!"

***

****

Feedback to [BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk][1]**. Thanks for reading!**

   [1]: mailto:BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk



	4. Counter-strike

Team Rocket Neo Part 4 **__**

Team Rocket Neo

A Pokémon nightmare by [BenRG][1]

****

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all technologies of the Pokémon universe are the legal property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Productions. No violation of any legal property intended. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet.

****

Author's Notes

Believe me, Ash and Misty are going to be _very_ OOC. After four years of stealing and roughing up Team Rocket's enemies, you should expect it.

Shades of grey alert. There are no heroes in this story, only those who are slightly less bad than others. Sometimes the price of survival is a lot higher than people expect.

Text in [Squared Brackets] is translated Pokémon talk.

Text in _Italics_, but not in quotes is thought or telepathic communication.

Text in "_Quotes and Italics_" is a communication by radio or videophone.

****

Censor: R for violence and swearing

Ages: Ash is 18; Misty is 18; Rocketboy is 17; Naomi is 13; Buddy is 28; Holly is 24; Jessie is 26; James is 25; Giovanni is 40; Gary is 20; Tracey is 22, Delilah is 39; Oak is 55

****

Part 4 – Counter-strike

__

Chapter 1 – Loyalty

"Okay, Smiley, Water Gun attack!" At her command, Naomi Athena's assigned Totodile fired a jet of pressurised water that blew the Paras off its' feet. The small crab-like bug/plant-type landed on its' back and struggled fitfully.

"Okay, Naomi, go for it!" Ash whispered into her ear. Naomi swallowed nervously as she drew a Standard-type Pokéball and threw it at the stunned creature. The ball struck the Paras on its' belly. The Pokémon flashed into red light, which the Pokéball sucked up greedily. The ball fell to the earth and twitched for a few seconds before locking closed.

Naomi was in shock as she walked over to the ball. She picked it up and looked at it. "That makes two," she said in a quiet, contemplative voice. "I've actually caught two Pokémon in one morning!"

"Only because you're a good Trainer," Ash told her. "Smiley goes to great lengths for you, Naomi, you should be proud of forming such a bond with him."

Naomi blushed at her team leader's praise. She took a moment to try to regain her composure before collecting Paras and putting him on her bandoleer alongside the Beedrill she caught earlier today. She then turned back to rejoin Ash and Raichu by the team's APC. Ash was introducing himself to the Rhyhorn he had captured about an hour before. To tell the truth, Naomi couldn't quite understand how it was that she and her Team Leader got to be capturing Pokémon for themselves. 

The day had started normally enough. Naomi had joined Ash on a standard sweep patrol of the forests surrounding Seashell Base. After encountering a group of novices and taking DNA samples of their considerable collection of Pokémon, the pair had encountered an entire tribe of Sandshrews. Ash surprised Naomi by immediately laying into the hapless Earth-types with the help of his incredibly powerful Charizard, Firestorm. The entire tribe was now in a collection of Pokéballs, ready for shipping back to Headquarters.

Ash seemed strangely affected by the incident. He announced to Naomi that he considered that it was a disgrace that she only had one Pokémon, and an assigned one at that. Ignoring her protests, he lead her off into the woods to, in his words 'begin to gather your own team.' He showed the way by capturing a Pidgey, and then manoeuvred her into a position where she had no choice but to capture a Beedrill. The rest followed from that.

Now, they were heading back to the base. "Sir," Naomi began uncertainly, "surely we should hand these Pokémon over to the Boss… I mean the Team must come first."

Ash turned from the controls of the vehicle with a laugh. "Naomi, the Team _is_ coming first. We are serving its' best interests by being as well equipped as we can be." Naomi opened her mouth to protest, but Ash overrode her immediately. "Don't get me wrong, Naomi. These Sandshrews… well, most of them anyway, will go to HQ all right, but the individual captures are ours and ours alone. As we assemble a larger team of our own, we won't need to draw on the Team's resources by needing assigned Pokémon." Ash shrugged and grinned. "Me, Misty and Rocketboy have only got our own team now, no assigned Pokémon at all!"

Naomi still felt uncomfortable with this, but one thing she had found out over the last few weeks was that Ash and Misty weren't your typical White Team agents at all. They were full of strange ideas and ideals that bordered on the insubordinate sometimes. For some reason the Boss permitted them to get away with this behaviour, but it still made her nervous.

"_Ash_," Misty's voice crackled from the communications speakers, "_when are you going to be back at the base?_"

Ash clicked the channel open. "Our ETA is five minutes, Mist," he replied.

"_I'm just calling to let you know the courier blimp from HQ is almost here_," Misty explained. "_I thought you would want to give Violet and Lily your regards before they leave us._"

***

As Ash drove the APC into its' hidden hanger, he saw the silhouette of a type-A10 cargo blimp descending out of the clear blue sky towards the base. He shut down the ground vehicle's engines and virtually ran up to the air transport-docking gantry. Standard procedure called for any visiting transport to be docked for as little time as possible, so he had to hurry.

At the gate to the boarding arm, Lily and Violet Waterflower were standing, shifting nervously from foot to foot as they watched the blimp's crew perform the cargo loading and unloading operations. They were both acutely aware that it was their last chance to back out, and they were clearly having second thoughts.

Neither of them were what Ash considered born Team Rocket material, but he appreciated their desire to fight the mysterious conspiracy that everyone in the base had been increasingly aware of over the past few weeks. Besides, after co-operating with Ash and Misty to raid the Cascade Gym in Cerulean City, it wasn't as if they had anywhere else to go.

"So, guys, I guess this is it for the next six months or so," Ash said.

Violet smiled a bit uncertainly. "Like, I guess so," she said quietly. She swallowed dryly before continuing. "Gee, but I'm really nervous!" Lily nodded her agreement.

"Nothing to be nervous about," Ash announced. "It's just going to be like a college course in… uh… _special_ skills."

Misty grinned at that definition of the Organisation's basic training course. "You'll both do fine," Misty said in a gentle, reassuring tone. "You've both already proven that you have what it takes."

Violet nodded nervously and Lily managed a slight smile. They hoisted their duffel bags to their shoulders and were about to board the blimp when Ash suddenly spoke up. "Hold on a moment," he said. Both of the Waterflower sisters stopped and looked at him in surprise. "I've got a gift for you," he said. "A little something to remember us by." Ash reached out and handed both women one of the Sandshrews he captured earlier. "You've mostly just got Water-types right now, so these Sandshrews might help you round out your bands."

"Like, thanks, Ash," Lily said. With an air of great daring, she leaned forward and gave Ash a chaste kiss on the cheek. 

"Take care of yourselves, big sisters," Misty said, a hint of tears in her eyes. The three women hugged and finally separated. 

Lily grinned fearlessly at Ash and turned to leave. "Thanks for everything, Ash!"

Violet was a bit more hesitant. She hugged Misty again and, when Ash leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, he could feel her trembling with what was either anticipation or fear. Just as Violet was about to board, one of Misty's Pokéballs began to shake and shudder. It suddenly split open and a yellow-tan duck with wide, staring eyes materialised on the gantry. "Psy-yi-yi-duck-yi-yi-psy!"

"What do you want Psyduck?" Misty asked in surprise.

Psyduck began jumping around comically, pointing at himself, Violet and the blimp. "Psy-yi-yi-duck-uck-Yi-duck, psy-psy!"

Misty looked shocked. "You want to go with Violet?"

"Psy!"

Misty grinned. "Well, if you're sure, pal,"

"Psy-yi! Psy-duck-uck-psyduck-yi-yi-psy-yi-uck-duck-psy!"

Misty shrugged and handed Violet Psyduck's Pokéball. "He said that you were very kind to him over the last four years. He is very grateful and he wants to repay you by serving you as he once served me." Violet looked like that she would burst into tears at that declaration of loyalty. Misty grinned maliciously and leaned forward. "Good luck," she whispered. "He is always getting into trouble and popping out of his ball when you _don't_ want him!"

Violet grimaced when she heard that. Misty and Ash started laughing at the expression on her face. "Come on, Psyduck," Violet sighed.

"Yi-yi, Psy-yi," [Bye, Misty,] Psyduck called with a cheery wave as he waddled onto the blimp after Violet.

"Like, you take care of my sister, Ash," Violet said from the passenger hatch. Ash nodded and waved. "And you take care of that heroic idiot of yours, baby sister," she continued.

"You bet I will, Sis," Misty replied with a wave. Then the two Waterflower girls were out of sight. Misty sighed and sagged a little.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked in concern.

"I'm just a little tired of seeing my friends and kin going off to train for the wars," Misty said gently.

"The war has come to us, Misty," Ash said firmly. He hugged her supportively. "At least they'll have a chance to make a difference this way." Misty nodded and gave Ash a kiss on the cheek. Ash looked up and noticed that the blimp hadn't left yet, which was strange as all the cargo loading and offloading was now finished. There was a movement inside the cargo hatch and two familiar figures appeared.

"Prepare for _trouble_," said a familiar female voice.

"And make it _double_," added a male voice.

"Jessie and James?" Ash said in surprise.

"Hey, don't ferget Meowth!" said the diminutive cat-like Pokémon. Carrying their duffels, Jessie, James and Meowth got off the blimp. The big air transport's cargo hatch swung closed and the aircraft immediately began to back out of the hanger.

As soon as the big hanger doors had swung shut and Ash could hear himself think, let alone speak, he turned to his old friends. "So, guys, what is the reason for this pleasure?" he asked. He was concerned at their unheralded arrival. After all the collisions Ash had experienced with High Command over the last few weeks, a surprise visit by a pair of senior field agents wasn't a good thing, even if they were old friends.

James was looking around the hanger thoughtfully. "Hello, James, how are you doing?" he said sarcastically. "I'm fine, Ash, how are you?"

Ash gave James his patented 'ha-ha-I-don't-think' look. "Hello James, Jessie, Meowth," he said.

"Hi, guys," Misty said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

After an awkward pause, Jessie began to speak, her eyes shining with a little too much pleasure and anticipation for Ash and Misty's peace of mind. "Well, Ash, you've been creating quite a stir," she remarked a little _too_ pleasantly. "I'm not revealing any secrets by saying you've got the Boss very concerned about your conduct." She waggled her finger at Ash reprovingly.

"Well, I'm sorry if I have cost our beloved Leader any sleep," Ash said sarcastically. "You'll find, however, that we're doing our jobs; we're just doing them a bit differently."

"Are you? " James asked with a smug grin. "Well, that's the question that we're here to answer."

Ash looked at Misty in concern and then turned back to Jessie and James. Jessie was looking around the base's main hanger with a definite patronising air. "Why Ash dear," she said with a smirk, "we've been sent here to make sure you _are_ still loyal to Team Rocket!"

***

Rocketboy and Buddy snapped to attention as Ash led Jessie and James into the Control Centre. "And here is the Operations Centre," Ash said. He grinned at the expression of disapproval on the two senior agents' faces as they looked around the small chamber, with Post-It notes decorating almost every surface and several pencils imbedded in the acoustic tile ceiling. It looked like someone had detonated a bomb filled with office supplies in the middle of the room.

"It isn't… tidy," James said at last.

"No, that's one of the problems of being an actual working field team," Misty commented from the door, letting the sarcasm into her voice.

Predictably, Jessie rose to the bait. "Are you suggesting that we _don't_ work, you Scrawny Brat?" she hissed.

Once, Misty would have exploded, but these days she was slightly taller than Jessie and boasted a pretty-much-perfect hourglass figure, so the insult was more of a nostalgia trip than anything else. "No, I'm not," she replied sweetly. "I think that _you_ are suggesting that you don't work, Ms. Wannabe-Perfect." Jessie virtually exploded and lunged towards the younger woman. To Ash's immense surprise, she stopped dead when she reached throttling distance of Misty. "Give me an excuse, Jessie," Misty said, her voice cold. James sweat-dropped and Jessie made a strange whimpering noise, making Ash frown.

He sidestepped around James and saw that Misty's Desert Eagle .357" Magnum semi-auto was pressed to Jessie's throat. She had drawn her gun far quicker than anyone could follow. "Misty," Ash said gently, "they _are_ on our side."

"Of course they are," Misty said with a winning smile. "That is why I didn't blow this hag's neck apart on the spot." Misty made a show of snapping the safety catch back on and putting her personal cannon back into its' back-draw holster. As soon as the gun was in its' holster, everyone in the room relaxed slightly. "Do you really think that you two would have survived more than a minute if we were going renegade or something?" Misty continued, giving her two oldest friends in the organisation the sourest look.

Jessie had a bad case of the shakes and James stepped to her side to support her, giving Misty an angry glare. "Misty has a point," Ash said loyally (though he promised that he would talk to her about waving her gun around like that). "We have just shipped a crate of Sandshrews _and_ a Pidgey back to Headquarters. On top of that, our rate of collecting rare kinds of Pokémon is quite high. Frankly, I find the whole concept of checking that we are loyal really insulting."

"Tough," Jessie snapped, shaking James' supporting hands off of her shoulders. "Look, Ash, you've been doing the weirdest shit over the last couple of weeks. Team Rocket depends on internal discipline. We can't afford to have anyone just making up his or her own rules and priorities. James and I are here to ensure that you are not doing anything that could risk the Cause."

Ash shook his head. "Jessie, I really think that the Boss should know better than to question us," he said sadly. "We picked up Richie's Charizard for him. Admittedly it hurt a _lot_, but we did our duty. I am really sorry that it wasn't enough for him."

Jessie snorted, crossing her arms. "The Boss has his own standards," she said tartly. "You should be concerned with meeting _them_ not worrying about your own strange idealistic morals."

Misty laughed. "That's rich coming from a woman who once said: 'I know we're supposed to be bad guys… but we can't just let these cute fluffy creatures get hurt!'" Jessie flamed a bright, embarrassed red. James tried not to laugh and Ash grinned maliciously as they all remembered that day in Johto, six long years ago now, when Jessie and Arbok helped protect a flock of Mareep. Her 'Little Bo Jessie' costume was something that ensured that Ash fall asleep laughing for days afterwards.

"Please, Misty," Jessie begged. "Don't bring that up. I wasn't feeling all that well that week."

"Besides," James said with a slight smile, "she had to borrow _my_ favourite ball gown to imitate a shepherdess."

The laughter, thankfully, broke the tension in the room. "Look, guys," Ash suddenly announced. "Why don't you come with Misty and me on patrol this afternoon?" There was a surprised pause. Jessie and James looked at each other. "Once you see that we are doing our jobs, no matter how differently from how they teach it in the trainee barracks, then you will see that you, and most importantly the Boss, have nothing to worry about."

"Yes… I suppose," Jessie said doubtfully.

"Okay, but…" everyone looked at James. "Can we eat first?" he asked.

***

The evening sun was washing over the sea around Tangelo Island as Delilah worked on an evening meal in the small beachfront property where she and Tracey lived. It was at times like this that she could almost forget her old life, and the pain that accompanied her every memory of it.

"Hey, Delilah?" Tracey called. Delilah Ketchum stuck her head out of the window to see Tracey walking up the path. A young woman with bright green hair, and a Ditto (who had adopted the shape of a wheel to roll along at its' mistress' side) accompanied him. 

"Hello, Tracey," she called back. "Who's the young lady?"

"This is Maxine Simmonds, Duplicia to her friends," Tracey explained. "She's a travelling performer. The Pokémon Centre in Tangelo City doesn't have any free rooms today, so I told her she could stay the night with us.

Delilah rolled her eyes slightly. _Thanks for consulting me Trace,_ she thought to herself. Outwardly, she gave her best 'mommy' smile and nodded. "Of course, you're welcome to stay for as long as you like, dear," she said.

"Oh thank you, Mrs. Sketchitt," Duplicia said with a broad, guileless smile. "I really thought I would be camping in the woods tonight!"

So, later that same evening, Tracey and Delilah were sitting in their living room along with their guest. "So, you are a travelling Imaté performer?" Delilah said. "Well, that sounds like a rough life."

"It is a bit hand-to-mouth, as far as money goes," Duplicia agreed, "but I really love dressing up and getting inside the heads of people and Pokémon. It is just such a wonderful way to learn about people."

Tracey grinned. "I can see why you've got a Ditto," he said with a laugh. "You even think a little like one."

"Yes," Duplicia agreed, stroking Ditto's 'head.' "When they change, they alter their genetic structure. That fascinates me, it is the ultimate mimicry: Literally _becoming_ your subject. That is a sort of epiphany for a mimic. I'd love to have a power like that."

"Oh, I don't know," Delilah replied. "Being able to change who and what you are must be a strange thing. I'd hate it: I'd never know who I _really_ am."

"But we all have secrets, Mrs. Sketchitt," Duplicia said brightly. "I think that we all pretend that we are something that we aren't, isn't that so?" Duplicia smiled in triumph as Delilah blushed bright red and Tracey shifted uncomfortably.

That night, after everyone went to bed, Duplicia sat up in her room, thinking. After a moment, she pulled a small palmtop computer with UN Security Council graphics stencilled on it out of her backpack. She activated the computer and pulled up the picture files of the people she was looking for. She then pulled off her Pokéball-shaped broach and flipped it over. From the back, she pulled a tiny memory crystal out of the hidden digital camera. She put it into an interface slot on the palmtop's side and waited for the memory to load into the computer.

She then selected two good photographs of her hosts and togged an image processing application. She smiled coldly as the four pictures became two. She didn't need the computer of course; she recognised both of them at once. Someone as skilled as her at changingher appearance could see though an amateur's efforts at once. Still, it was good to get confirmation for her report to the Professor.

She activated a communications application. "Switcheroo to Champion," she said quietly. There was a pause.

"_Champion here,_" replied a male voice. "_What do you have to report Switcheroo?_"

"It's them, Gary," Duplicia said excitedly. "Delilah Ketchum and Tracey Sketchitt. They've made some attempts to avoid casual detection, but I saw through them at once."

"_Well done Maxine,_" Gary Oak replied. "_Make sure that they don't have any security in place. We're on our way in now._"

"I'm on it, Gary," Duplicia said firmly. "Switcheroo out."

Duplicia packed away her equipment and walked out onto the porch of Tracey and Delilah's house with Ditto at her side. She saw at once that Tracey's Venonat and Delilah's Mr. Mime were sitting there, probably standing guard. "Hey guys," she said gently.

"Venon!"

"Mi-ime!"

Duplicia smiled and Venonat jumped, noting the cruelty in the woman's expression. "You know, your Trainers are in a lot of trouble," she suddenly said. "They know a very bad man by the name of Ash Ketchum, and they haven't given him up to the authorities. Don't you think that is a bad thing to do?" Mime looked worried and Venonat gave Duplicia a suspicious look. "The good thing is that my friends will bring them to their senses," Duplicia said with a relieved sigh. "You know, I had a bit of a crush on Ash once, but now he has betrayed the League. And I can't stand traitors, can you?"

Suddenly a bit of shadow moved across the night sky. Venonat looked and immediately saw the 'stealth' transport helicopter with UN Defence Forces logos painted on its' side. He jumped and turned to run and raise the alarm, but it was already too late. It had been too late when Tracey met Duplicia late that afternoon.

"Ditto: Starmie!" She ordered. The morphing-type glowed yellow and turned into a Starmie water-type Pokémon. "Use Water Gun!" The pressurised water jet struck Venonat and blew him across the beach. As a bug-type he was very vulnerable to water and he was badly hurt. "Now use Ice Beam," Duplicia continued. The energy bolt froze the hapless Venonat solid.

Mime was already acting. A Kinetic Throw attack blew Ditto into Duplicia and the two tumbled across the sand.

Behind the little psi-type, the helicopter landed. Gary Oak, at the head of a squad of Peacekeeper Commandos strode out, looking sort of stupid in the colonel's uniform he modified to make himself look a bit more heroic.

"Gary, I could use some help!" Duplicia yelled. Gary drew a Pokéball and strode forward.

Mime turned and immediately raised a psychic shield. Gary released an Onyx (which used to be Brock, but remembered nothing of those days now). "Onyx, Burrow," he ordered. Onyx buried itself into the beach and tunnelled right under Mr. Mime. He emerged right under the porch and threw the psi-type into the air with a loud yell of fear.

The noise had roused Tracey and Delilah from their sleep. They appeared at the door and stared at the troops, half blinded by a massive spotlight on the helicopter, directed right at their cabin. Delilah, seeing Mr. Mime fall from a Tail Whip attack from Onyx, screamed in fear. "What are you doing?" she shrieked. "Leave my Pokémon alone!"

"Delilah Ketchum, you are under arrest for complicity with an enemy of the people of Earth," Gary snapped. "Sargent, take her into custody." The grizzled PK sergeant nodded and stepped forward.

"Leave her alone!" Tracey shouted. "Go Scyther!" Tracey's fighting bug materialised. 

Gary raised a brow in a mocking way. "Onyx, return," he ordered. After recalling his stolen rock-type, he swapped balls and threw another. "Kabutops, I choose you!" His fossil-based fighting bug materialised opposite Scyther. "Old against New. I always wondered which of these two would win out in a no-holds barred match."

"Stop grandstanding, Gary," Duplicia shouted. Suddenly, a Dragonite landed on Scyther, nearly smashing him flat. "Nice work, Ditto," Duplicia laughed. "Now, I think that bug is only going to be trouble. Why don't you bite his head off for me?"

"No, leave him alone!" Tracey shouted, charging the fake Dragonite.

"Oh boy. Another bleeding heart that sees his Pokémon as his 'friends,'" Duplicia said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Use Tail Whip, Ditto." The impact smashed Tracey back into and _through_ the wall of the cabin. "Now use Tempest," she continued with a big smile. The massive storm of wind caught the damaged cabin and collapsed it on top of the unconscious artist.

"Tracey!" Delilah screamed. She rushed forward and began tearing at the wreckage. Then the PKs reached her. Delilah had lost everything now, her son, her life and the one person whose love kept her sane. She turned with a cry of hatred and raked her nails across one soldier's face, trying to rip out his eyes. Another jabbed her with a cattle prod and she collapsed. She barely noticed the handcuffs snapping around her wrists.

As she was lead to the helicopter, she passed a smug Duplicia and Gary. Duplicia looked incredibly pleased at the way the night's work had gone. "Why…" Delilah whispered. "Why kill him? What did he do to you?"

"He had aided an enemy of the League," Duplicia said severely. "That made him an enemy of all Pokémon Trainers who are true to their calling." The woman's voice rose with righteous indignation. "He let your son attack one of the greatest living Pokémon researchers, and aided you in abetting Ash's crimes."

"You don't have to justify your actions to _her_, Duplicia," Gary sneered. "You know what they say about family. A rotten tree produces rotten fruit. If one is a traitor, it usually means that there are more in the family."

"Traitor? That's rich coming from you… _murderer!_" Delilah screamed. "_I know what you did to Ash and Misty!_" She spat in the Pokémon Master's face. Gary scowled and kicked the woman in the stomach, making her collapse and lie there, crying in pain.

"Get her out of here," he snarled. "Come on," he added to Duplicia.

"Come on, Ditto, leave that bug alone," she said to her morphing type. Ditto looked at the half-crushed Scyther and morphed back to his 'default' shape, leaving the bug to his dying. With a happy cry, he ran off to join his mistress on the helicopter. The silent aircraft left, leaving the battlefield silent and dark.

***

Ash hefted his Armalite M21-A1 in his left hand and opened fire. The .22" bullets roared from the assault rifle, peppering his target's chest with holes, forming a neat group over the heart. He shifted his aim upward and tore another series of holes through the target's head. Once the clip was exhausted, he shifted his posture, raising the Franchi SPAS-12 semi-automatic shotgun in his right hand and fired, one-handed again. The first shot blew off the target's left leg, the next its' right. The third took of the left arm, then he repeated the feat with the right. Finally, he used the last two shells to sever the neck, and the torso of the target fell limply to the floor.

Ash lowered his two emptied weapons and pressed the button to move the cardboard shooting target to the front of the firing range. To either side of him, Jessie and James removed their ear protectors and looked at the younger field agent with some awe. "Maximum points, I think," Ash said with a grin. 

James swallowed nervously and Jessie sneered a little. "I always knew you were a show-off, Ash," Jessie remarked. "You just wasted thirty bullets and six shells on a target that should only take _two_ bullets."

"He also hit with every bullet," James added, his eyes tracking involuntarily to Ash's holstered Auto-Nine pistol.

"I just wanted to show you guys that I'm keeping in practice," Ash said with a slight grin.

"Whatever," Jessie said with a roll of her eyes. "Look, are we going on patrol or not?"

"Later," Ash said. "I just have to do something first."

"What?" James asked.

"That's none of your business," Ash replied coldly.

"We are here on an official inspection," James said, trying to sound authoritative. "That makes it our business."

Ash sighed. "Okay, James, if it will settle you down, I'm going to meet one of my informants." The two other agents looked at him in some surprise. "I have several contacts that clue me in on local affairs," he explained. "I'm going to see one now, but I can't have you come along as he… well 'she,' actually, is very nervy and doesn't like crowds. Okay?"

James agreed easily enough, but Jessie couldn't shake the feeling that Ash wasn't telling them something. She had always had a strange intuition about what the boy was thinking, and ever since he joined Team Rocket, it had only grown stronger.

***

Delilah had slipped into deep shock during the long helicopter flight to whatever prison the UNGC had decreed would be her new home. She barely noticed the rough hands lifting her up and forcing her to walk down the corridor to a cellblock. She didn't respond to her clothes being torn off and the rough body search that followed. She barely noticed the poison yellow-coloured prison jump suit that was zipped over her naked form. All she could see was faces, parading before her eyes, Ash, Misty, now Tracey and even poor Mimey. She had lost everything and she knew that the only thing left for her to do was to crawl into her grave and rot there.

She sat on the bunk in the bare cell for some time. If any meals were delivered in that time, she ignored them. She ignored everything in the devout hope that, if she kept ignoring it, life would quickly and painlessly go away. 

"Hello Delilah," a familiar voice said. 

Delilah's head snapped up. "Sam!" she said in amazement.

Professor Samuel Oak was standing at the door of her cell, wearing a kind smile. "It is good to see you, Delilah," he said. "I'm glad to see that our troops weren't too rough on you. Gary is a good boy, but he has a deplorable tendency towards excess when it comes to the use of force."

"That is an understatement," Delilah hissed. "Your hell-spawn of a grandson _murdered_ my lover and several Pokémon for _laughs_!"

Oak grimaced. "Now, now, Dee," he said reprovingly. "Your young friend was resisting arrest. Gary had the right to defend himself. As for the Pokémon…" Oak shrugged. "Well, there are plenty more where they came from."

Delilah couldn't believe she had heard that. "It is true, isn't it?" she said in a curiously detached tone of voice. "Everything Tracey said. You brainwashed Ash and Misty's Pokémon and covered up Gary's clumsy attempt to kill them." Oak shrugged. "How could you do that?" Delilah whispered. "Two innocent children… dozens of _thinking_ beings… you destroyed them!"

"Pokémon are _not_ thinking beings," Oak snapped. "All the officially-sanctioned research shows that they are even less sentient than most animals! _That_ is why they are so easy to train! As for Ash and Misty…" Oak sighed and drew a hand through his hair. "Delilah, I am genuinely sorry about Ash. Unfortunately, your son was the fulfilment of a very old and very dangerous prophecy. The UN has gone to a lot of trouble for us, Delilah. Pokémon, if uncontrolled, could cause a lot of trouble. Fortunately the international community has acted to stop that from happening. Ash, however, was a threat to that. He is The Chosen One, you see, the one who will 'liberate' the Pokémon to claim their 'destiny.'" Oak snorted. "It sounds like gibberish, I know, but after that incident on Shamuti Island when he wrecked the attempt that our Project made to gain control of the Legendary Birds… well I couldn't take the risk anymore. Gary's pitiful jealousy was just the excuse I needed. As for Misty… well she was just another bystander caught in the crossfire, like Tracey."

"I can't believe that you're saying that!" Delilah shouted, standing up. "Do you mean that you have been trying to… _control_ Pokémon somehow? Sam, you were always the one who spoke of caring for them!"

"YES!" Oak shouted. "Caring for them as carefully controlled resources! If they ever were to reach their ultimate natural potential… Delilah, there would be _chaos_! The UN couldn't allow that, so they founded the Project to stop it! Ash, unfortunately, is a threat to that control and he _must _be neutralised."

"Neutralised?" Delilah parroted. "Is that what your friends in New York call 'murder' these days?"

"No, it is what they call 'neutralised,'" Oak replied with a snarl. "Don't presume to judge us by your pitiful small-scale morality, my dear Dee. What is at stake here is the century of peace and international harmony that so many people died for back in the Second World War."

"Don't call me 'Dee,'" Delilah snapped. "You will call me 'Mrs. Ketchum.' And I don't care what justifications your employers have given you for their actions. The fact remains that you are a willing accomplice to torture, brainwashing and _murder_!" She shook her head and looked away. "I really don't know why you've done this," she murmured at last. "Why am _I_ so important that you had to hunt me down and have your attack dog of a grandson murder poor, innocent Tracey?"

"My dear 'Mrs. Ketchum,'" Oak laughed, "you have no idea how important you are. Where you are, your son will shortly come. And when we have him, we will control him." The man laughed sadistically. "And he who controls The Chosen One controls the _future_."

"You are insane," Delilah said. "I will _never_ help you!"

With a roar of fury, Oak stepped across the cell and slapped Delilah around the face, knocking her to the ground. Oak shook for a moment before regaining control of his shaking limbs. Finally he knelt by her and looked at her. "It isn't too late for us, you know, Delilah," he said quietly. "I should have just had you executed, but I still care for you."

Delilah couldn't believe she had heard that. "You tried to murder my son, Oak," she hissed dangerously. "I feel nothing but contempt for you!" 

"That will change," Oak said. He stood up, his face expressionless and his eyes cold. "You already know that we have access to rehabilitation equipment, which can effectively erase a Pokémon's memories, making it easy for a new Trainer to re-train. What many people don't know is that I have been working on ways to make it work on _humans_ too." Oak paused and let the implications dawn on Delilah.

"You are going to… _reprogram_ me, like you did Ash and Misty's Pokémon," she said in horror. She swallowed. "Sam, if there is anything of the man I loved in you, you won't do that."

"I have my duty," Oak said coldly. "Once you have been… re-educated, you will be a prime asset to the Project, I think." He managed a slight laugh as Delilah cowered back from him. "Ash will come to your 'rescue,' and you will hand him over to us. Then… well I'm sure you can guess the rest."

Oak turned and strode out of the cell. "Take her to an isolation room," Delilah heard him say. "I don't want her to have the opportunity to damage herself." Two PKs rushed in and grabbed Delilah. She was dragged through the small facility until they reached a padded cell. The PKs threw her in and the door banged shut behind her.

Delilah could only lie on the floor and weep like a lost soul.

**__**

Chapter 2 – Visionary

Sabrina von Daimen, the Gym Leader of Saffron City's Marsh Gym first sensed the intruder in her Gym whilst teaching a young band of Novice Trainers the potential and limits of their psychic-type Pokémon. The consummate professional, she did not allow the presence to disturb her, even though the fact that this one of all others had sought her out made a child-like terror uncoil in her stomach.

For the next six hours, she calmly performed the duties required of her as Gym Leader. She taught two classes to young novices still too young to depart on their Journeys, faced and defeated a challenger for the Marsh Badge and completed a great deal of backlogged paper work. In all that time, she could still sense the power and potential waiting for her in the Gym's fighting arena.

Finally, at nine PM, she closed the doors to the Gym and pulled down the security shutters. In the half-darkened gym she called upon all of her power and stood, waiting for the challenge. When nothing immediately happened, she called out. "You may as well come out," she called. A nervous squeak entered her voice, embarrassing her slightly. "I know you are there!"

A bit of the night detached itself and walked forward. It was a tall, heavily built young man with ebony black hair and wide, humour-filled chocolate brown eyes. He was wearing a paramilitary uniform consisting of white trousers, a black under-shirt, black gloves and boots and an open-fronted white jacket. Over the heart of his jacket was a stylised capital letter 'R' in blood red inside a blood-red ring. "Hello, Sabrina, it's been a long time," Ash Ketchum, The Chosen One, declared with a wide smile.

Sabrina called upon her powers to create a psi shield around her to protect herself from a first attack and put her fingers on Alakazam's Pokéball. "I do not know what you want, Dark One," she said angrily, "but you will find it far harder to best me than you did Daisy Oak."

Ash raised his brows in surprise. "No, it isn't like that," he said hurriedly. "Sabrina, I'm not here to raid your Gym or to attack you."

Sabrina looked at the man thoughtfully. That same aggravatingly perfect psychic shield that she noticed when he first came here eight years ago as a challenger for her Badge was still there and she could sense nothing about his real intentions. She briefly considered using her telekinetic powers to snatch the Pokéballs from his belt as she had done before, but some instinct told her that such an act could be counter-productive.

"Assuming I believe that," Sabrina suddenly asked, "why are you here?"

"Because you are the most powerful human psychic on Earth," Ash replied. "I've come to you because I need your help."

Sabrina was completely nonplussed by that comment. "You want _my_ help?" she asked. She fought down an instinct to laugh. "Don't you have psychics in your brotherhood of evil who could assist you?"

Ash winced at Sabrina's description of Team Rocket. After all these years, he still had not got used to the fact that he was now a bad guy. "Yes," he allowed, "but then I would have to make this an official request, and I'm not ready to do that yet. I've come to you because everyone knows you have the highest ethical standards. I need a psychic who I can trust and one who will not be reporting their findings to my superiors."

Sabrina walked right forward to where Ash and Raichu were standing. She looked deeply into his eyes and tried to read his expression. "Give me one reason why I should help you with your plans," she growled.

Ash sighed and opened his arms helplessly. "Sabrina, I'm not a bad guy," he protested. "I have made a lot of hard choices, its' true, but I am not evil."

Sabrina tapped the red 'R' on Ash's jacket. "That says otherwise," she snapped. "I don't know what you intended to achieve, but you have failed. Now get out before I force you out."

"Sabrina," Ash said gently as she turned away. "I am a proud man, but I am desperate here." Sabrina tensed, half-expecting the sudden agony of an electrical attack or the brief burning pain of a bullet in the back. When that didn't happen she turned to face Ash again. "I'm not the sort to beg," he said, "but I will do it now. Please, help me. If I can't figure this out, thousands may suffer."

Sabrina couldn't drag herself away from this conversation. "Is that a threat?" she asked gently.

"No, it is a fear," Ash said, running a gloved hand through his black hair. "There is some kind of conspiracy at work in these islands, and I have found myself opposing their plans. But…"

"But…?" Sabrina asked gently.

"But I don't even know my role in this game," Ash said with a sigh. "All I have is a name: 'The Chosen One.'"

"Yes, 'The Chosen One,'" Sabrina replied, frowning gently. She finally turned back to Ash and looked into his chocolate brown eyes again. "I would have thought your time with Lugia would have answered all of your questions in that area."

Ash shrugged and groaned in frustration. "Answered my questions?" he spluttered. "Sabrina, that bird talks in riddles most of the time. He left me with more questions than I had before." 

Now Sabrina had to laugh. Yes, that sounded like the God of the Seas all right. Ash blushed at her obvious amusement. "What do you want to know?" she asked when she calmed down.

"I want to know what it means to be the Chosen One," he told her. "Sabrina, I must know whether everything that has happened to me has a meaning, or whether I have just suddenly had a run of bad luck."

"There is no such thing as 'luck,'" Sabrina replied. She sighed deeply. This hadn't gone as she had expected. "I am still not sure I should trust you," she added.

Ash stood up straighter. "As I said, I'm desperate," he replied. "I am willing to prove that I am trustworthy." Ash's voice became fearful as he continued. "Please explore my thoughts."

Sabrina jumped. What Ash was proposing was the most absolute invasion of his mind that she could perform. He would have no secrets from her, none at all. "Ash," she said. "Do you really want to do that? You of all people are a man with secrets."

Ash laughed, fear and nervousness filling his voice. "Sabrina, I have no other choice. I need your help, and if this is the only way to get it… well then so be it."

There was a long pause as Sabrina considered the terrorist standing before her, her eyes wide and frightened.

***

Ash sat on a couch in Sabrina's private rooms and felt very nervous and uncomfortable. At the other side of the library-cum-consulting room, Sabrina was sorting through some _very_ old books on the shelves. After a moment she said "Ah!" and walked back over to him. "I think this might answer some of your questions, Ash," she said.

Ash took the book from Sabrina and saw a medieval etching. It was clearly of four young people riding on the back of Lugia, the God of the Seas. Ash peered at the picture and saw that the people on the Legendary Bird's back were a male with longish hair, a woman whose hair was styled in a dramatic wave, another woman, whose hair was in a tight ponytail from the side of her head… and a man wearing a _baseball _cap. Ash stared at the etching for a long time. "How old is this?" he asked.

"The book is a hundred years old," Sabrina said. "The picture itself is much older, no-one is sure exactly how old. The etching was done five hundred years ago, based on a cave painting found in the desert north of Sandstone City where wild Aerodactyls can be found. The best age for it is at least 20,000 years. Under it was an inscription in Neolithic runes that read: "_And the world will turn to ash._" Sabrina grinned at Ash's expression. "Yes, Ash," she said. "Everyone used to think it was an ancient prophecy of doom. It wasn't until you defeated that psychotic collector Laurence III, no-one even suspected that it might me a prophecy of _hope_."

Ash looked at the picture again in amazement. "How did they know?" he asked. It was the only near-sensible query that he could think of.

Sabrina shrugged. "I am not the first human with psychic powers," she reminded her visitor. "Nor am I even the most powerful. There were others in the past whose abilities make mine pale by comparison. Whoever painted that image and wrote those words was so powerful that time itself was merely a curtain that they could peel aside at a whim."

Sabrina took the book back and turned to another page. "Another, less powerful perhaps, but still formidable precognitive was Nostradamus," she said. "Unfortunately, he continually scrambled his brains with hallucinogenic drugs in a futile attempt to boost his powers, so most of his visions are less than meaningless. However, there is one unpublished vision that does the rounds amongst those of us with psychic abilities. Here it is." Sabrina's timbre of voice changed as she read the six-century old prophecy. Ash, irreverently, realised that the psychic had missed her true calling. She was a born actress.

"_And it will come in the third millennium of the new faith,  
That men will find again the powers of the Element Warriors.  
And those, whose power comes from that what is,  
Will see threat in these wonders._

"They will see that with friends so touch by God,  
No tyranny could survive the wrath of the common man.  
So they will act to control them, stunting the powers the Lord gave out freely.  
In that time will come a Chosen One.

"His will be the power to make the Element Warriors brothers.  
He will free them,  
He will destroy what is,  
He will set the world free.

"In doing so, he will pay a heavy price.  
For he must sacrifice his youthful dreams,  
And take on the role of the destroyer.  
And his curse will be to be called 'evil.'"

There was a long silent pause in the room as Sabrina sat down in a chair next to the couch. "That is talking about me," Ash said.

Sabrina nodded. "There is more, but it is mostly technical stuff, not for the layman," she explained. "Enough to say that all the indications are that the 'Chosen One' will be turned to the path of evil. He will overthrow the system of things and impose upon the world a new way of life based upon 'brotherhood' with the 'Element Warriors.'"

"The Pokémon," Ash surmised. Sabrina nodded. "What… what does it mean about sacrificing my dreams?"

Sabrina smiled. "Ash, what was the dream that started you on this path?" she asked. "You wanted to be the Pokémon Master. However, they don't let members of Team Rocket fight in the Leagues. So you have already given up all your dreams and ambitions."

"I didn't do it for any great cause," Ash said. "I just wanted to survive. Team Rocket was the only way."

Sabrina grinned in a fey fashion. "It usually turns out to be that way," she agreed. "Forget about great meaning, Ash. That is for historians to argue about in two or three centuries' time. Right now, you have only got blood, sweat, tears and all the other unglamorous bodily secretions."

"_So they will act to control them, stunting the powers the Lord gave out freely_," Ash said thoughtfully. "The Project. It must be something to do with them. I've got to find out what their game is."

"The Project?" Sabrina asked.

Ash sucked in a deep breath. "I think the time has come," he said. He lay back on the couch, his head towards Sabrina.

Raichu immediately jumped up on his chest. [She has given you everything you need,] he chattered in alarm. [There isn't any need for this!]

"Yes there is," Ash replied. "She has given me my answers, now I have to give her the answers _she_ needs."

[Are you sure?] Raichu asked, sounding very nervous.

"Yes," Ash replied, sounding completely sure of himself, even if he was in a cold sweat.

Sabrina nodded. "Prepare yourself," she said, reaching out to touch him.

To call it painful was an understatement. Not for Ash, all he felt was a strange tingle in his head, but Sabrina felt the complete memories of nineteen years flash across her frontal lobes in a split second… 

__

My first conscious memory whilst in my mother's womb… the pain of birth… nursing at my mother's breast… the new home in Pallet… meeting Gary for the first time… school… becoming aware of Pokémon through Professor Oak… "I will be the Pokémon Master, Mom…!" Receiving Pikachu… Ow! That hurts! Stop shocking me you crazy rat…! "I'll bring your bike back, I promise…!" Please be okay, Pikachu… Who are these three crazies…? Bye, bye, Team Rocket…! Why won't this girl leave me alone…? My first gym badge…My second… This Sabrina is scary… Leave Misty alone you psychic freak…! Another Gym Badge…! Why won't Charizard listen…? She is beautiful with her hair down… My final Gym Badge… What was that 'Mewtwo' thing he used on Gary…? Fear… my Pokémon stolen… I'm… dead…? I can't have flunked the League so easily! I'm a failure… The Orange Islands… a nice place… Snap… Tracey… strange guy… Gym Badges…! Why was Misty cheering the Gym Leader? Doesn't she know how it hurts…? My eighth badge… Winning the Orange League…! All for you, Mist… I have saved the world…? Wow, I can't believe this has happened to me! Johto…! A New World and new opportunities… Chikorita… Why did Gary have to steal you too…? The Gyms of Johto… Misty… looks different nowadays… Why does the way her hips move as she walks affect me…? The mystery of the Unown… a stolen kiss before the League… I win the Johto League… Misty rushes across the arena to kiss me… A bomb goes of in my head… Returning to Indigo and re—qualifying for the Indigo League… my visitor from the future… Celebi, a mystery… I win the Challenge Cup! I'm in the League! Brock… Brock, why…? Gary, Daisy… How could they do this…? Team Rocket… my only hope, what a joke! But for Misty… I would do anything for Misty…Our first mission… What have you done! Brainwashed them…? Working with Jessie and James… Flint does not believe us… There is no hope anymore… It is easier to go with the flow… But hurting others hurts me… hurts her… We kiss… the pleasure of a touch and being together… I will not let them separate us…! Becoming White Team agents… A choice… Richie… I'm so sorry, Brock… I forgive you… Who is the Chosen One…? A 'Project' that means to control the Pokémon… What does it all mean…?

Sabrina released Ash's head with a shriek of pain and nearly collapsed. Ash was on his feet in a second, holding her tightly. "Sabrina, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. "Should I get a doctor?"

"No, no I'm okay," Sabrina replied, patting his arm. "Your memories were a bit intense, that's all." She shook her head. "You've had quiet an intense life, Mr. Ketchum," she said wryly. "In nineteen years you have gathered the experiences most people don't gather even in a lifetime!"

Ash smiled slightly. "Believe me, it was worse gathering those experiences," he said ruefully. 

Sabrina still looked a bit shell-shocked. "I think I understand what you mean about this 'Project,'" she said. "As a Gym Leader, I am more than aware that there are some things in the League that are not entirely as they should be, but I never guessed it might be on such a scale."

Ash nodded in agreement. Then he shook himself all over and turned to leave. "Look, Sabrina, I've got to get going," he said. "Thanks for your help."

Ash turned to go, when Sabrina suddenly shouted out "No!"

Ash stopped and turned back. "What is it?" he asked the psychic woman. Her eyes were glowing icy blue with power, something he found rather disturbing.

"In your mind, I saw a boy… he must be a man by now, called 'Tracey,'" Sabrina said. 

"Yes, Tracey Sketchitt, he was a friend," Ash said.

"He is dying," Sabrina announced, making Ash's heart lurch in horror. "I could feel his despair calling out to you. I saw a cabin on a beach and I heard a name… Tan… Tan, something…"

"Tangelo?" Ash snapped? Sabrina nodded, her face excited. "His family home is on Tangelo Island. I've _got_ to go!" Ash turned to run, but Sabrina grabbed his arm. "Sabrina, he's my friend," Ash nearly shouted. "If he's in trouble, I have to go to him!"

"I can get you there faster," Sabrina said, drawing the Omni-ball containing Alakazam.

***

"Where is Ash?" Jessie nearly shouted.

Misty frowned in disapproval and pushed the other woman back so she wasn't so obviously in her face. "I don't know, Jessie."

"Well call him then," Jessie snapped, gesturing at the communications console in the Control Centre.

"I can't, his walkie-talkie is off-line," Misty said, letting a little of her worry into her voice.

"I was afraid of that," Jessie said in worry. She began to pace, not knowing what else she should do.

***

With a flash of blue light, Sabrina, Ash, Raichu and Alakazam materialised on the beach in Tangelo Island where Tracey's cabin had stood. Ash saw the unconscious Mr. Mime, Venonat and Scyther at once. "Oh no, what the hell happened?" he shouted. He ran forward, fumbling the Super-ball containing his Blissey out of its' bandoleer loop. "TRACEY!" he shouted.

"He's under the front of the wreckage, Ash," Sabrina shouted.

As Ash's assigned Blissey began to work on the three unconscious (probably dying) Pokémon, Ash released Rose-Roar and Kadabra. Aided by their strength and telekinesis, he began to tear at the wreckage.

Sabrina joined him, just as he uncovered Tracey's broken form. The man had been bleeding heavily and his body was at an angle that made Ash think of broken spines. "Oh no, Tracey," he moaned. "Hang on, pal, I'll get you fixed up." Without even a thought, Ash pulled his TR-issued distress beacon and pressed the activation stud. It generated a radio 'shriek' that was detected by the Organisation's Skynet GPS navigation and communications satellite network. The signal was then 'bounced' to the nearest Team Rocket outpost so they could send help.

Tracey's breathing was weak and his pulse was thready. Unable to move his friend out of fear of worsening already-critical injuries, he could only sit by him, holding his hand and willing him to live. "Hang on, pal," he whispered. "Hang on."

Sabrina touched him on the arm in sympathy. "He will live, Ash," she said. "He is too strong to die easily, and you have found him in time. Now I should go. May you find success in your endeavours; all of them."

"Team Rocket could use someone like you, Sabrina," Ash said, concerned. "After seeing what I have seen…" 

"Ash, my place is at my Gym," Sabrina replied. "I am a teacher, not a warrior. Besides, my entire calling has sworn never to interfere in the flow of history. We are not gods, not yet anyway, and we do not have the right to dictate the direction of humanity's evolution. Maybe, one day, your descendants will progress far enough to join us, and we can work together… If you don't go extinct first, of course."

"What are you talking about?" Ash blurted as Sabrina walked over to Alakazam. She never replied, rather she raised her hand in a blessing… and was gone.

Ash was still staring at the place she had stood when the Team Rocket Medevac blimp from Tangelo Base dropped to the sands before him.

**__**

Chapter 3 – The Web of Friendship

"We've just got word on Ash," Rocketboy announced, barging in on Jessie, James and Misty. The latter had been playing with her coffee and desperately trying _not_ to come up with horrible worst-case scenarios about her lover. "He's at Headquarters now with a casualty."

"What casualty?" Jessie demanded. "And how did he get to Headquarters? That's two hundred miles away!"

"No details, Ma'am," Rocketboy said with a helpless shrug. "The Boss just says to stand by. Ash will be coming back as soon as the casualty is stabilised."

***

Ash knew it was pointless, pacing back and forth outside the medical ward, but he couldn't help it. Tracey was balanced on a knife-edge between life and death, and Ash had a horrible premonition that this was the least of it.

He stopped and sagged onto a chair. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to calm himself. Raichu jumped up onto his lap. [Don't despair,] the electric squirrel said. [Remember that Dr. Williker brought you and Misty back from the point of death. If anyone can save Tracey, it is him.]

Ash stroked Raichu's cheeks with a wan smile. "I know pal," he said. "But the waiting is hard… and I can't shake the feeling this is my fault."

[How?] Raichu asked scornfully. [You haven't even seen him for four years.]

"People close to me…" Ash said quietly. "I'm touched by history, Raichu. Everyone close to me just seems to get swept up in the current, for better or worse… usually for worse."

Raichu watched as tears began to trickle down Ash's cheeks. He nuzzled his Trainer and tried to comfort him, but he felt that comfort was something that Ash would have a hard time receiving right now.

"Ash?" Ash looked up and saw Williker standing there.

"Yeah Doc?" Ash asked, hope tingeing his voice.

"He will live," Williker said. "He's a strong man, and that will win the battle in the long-term, I think." Ash sighed and sagged in relief. "But there is some bad news," Williker continued in a sad tone of voice.

"What?" Ash asked, a cold finger of ice trickling down his spine.

"I am afraid that the impact he suffered to the small of his back fractured his spine between vertebrae 17 and 18. Ash, barring a miracle… your friend will never walk or have any feeling below the line of his waist ever again."

Ash's mouth dropped open and he could only stare at Williker in horror. The doctor shifted unhappily and turned away for a second. "He's awake now," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "Incredible lad, really. He's full of enough painkillers to knock out an elephant but he won't black out. Try talking to him. It might help."

Ash walked reluctantly through the door to the medical ward. Tracey was in a bed surrounded by life-support equipment in a private room. Ash walked forward reluctantly and touched his friend's hand. "Hey, Trace," he said with a wan smile.

To his surprise, the hand grabbed his own and held on with some strength. "Ash…" Tracey whispered. "Is… is it you?"

Ash couldn't blame Tracey for being unsure. All grown up and in uniform, he must be virtually unrecognisable. "In the flesh, buddy," Ash said, trying to sound cheerful. "Don't talk, pal. Save your strength for getting well again."

Tracey wasn't in the mood for convalescent bullshit. "I can't feel my legs, Ash," he said in a gentle tone of voice. "What has happened to them?"

"They… they're still there, pal," Ash said nervously. "You took a bad knock back there and it may have shaken you up a bit. Don't be surprised if bits are numb…"

"I'm paraplegic, aren't I?" Tracey interrupted. The man sounded desperate and horrified.

Ash fought down tears. "The doctors don't know that for sure," he replied. "You might get well after a little rest and therapy…"

"Don't lie to me, Ash," Tracey whispered. "I know how small the chances of that are…" Ash held Tracey's hand tighter, trying to communicate that he must be strong. "I deserve this," Tracey said quietly. "It is my just punishment."

"For what?" Ash almost shouted. "Tracey, you didn't do anything wrong. So Professor Oak took you in? You and everyone else, old friend. You can't blame yourself for what he did!"

Tracey gave Ash the strangest look. "I… I thought you knew," he said.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Delilah… your mother… she came with me… We were looking after each other…" Tracey explained. Ash tried to fight down an insane desire to laugh at the thought of Tracey and his _mom_ living together. "I love her, Ash," Tracey continued. "I was trying to care for her as best as I could… Then Gary came."

"Gary…?" Ash asked in horror. "_He_ did this?" Ash was furious. He had given Gary a chance to get out of this, and he spurned it. Now whatever happened to him was on _his_ head.

"Ash…" Tracey whispered. Ash returned from his fantasies of revenge and stared at Tracey's broken body with a sick sense of horror. Everyone who got close to him seemed to end up being hurt. Sometimes just keeping breathing was difficult. Tracey was finally succumbing to the painkillers and was slipping into unconsciousness. 

"Yeah, buddy?" Ash asked, moving his head closer.

"They… they took Delilah…" Tracey gasped. "I'm sorry I couldn't look after her for you…"

"They took my Mom?" Ash asked, his voice rising in horror. "Where?"

"I don't know Ash… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

***

Delilah screamed as the pitiless machine drove waves of pain through her mind. Still she wouldn't give up. She concentrated on every memory, anything she could recall. She _wouldn't_ let them make her their creature. She would _die_ first!

"Why aren't you making more progress?" Gary snapped as he watched the woman writhing in the Rehabilitation Chair.

"Er… well, the subject has a remarkably strong will," the little technician blurted to him. "It is difficult to erase synaptic patterns when she continually re-enforces her memories like this." Gary glared at the technician, making him even more nervous. "Besides," he squeaked, "the apparatus has never been tested on a human before… It isn't properly calibrated…"

"Then I _suggest_," Gary snapped, "that you take her out of that contraption and _get_ it calibrated. My Grandfather is very keen on having your 'subject' as a weapon he can use against Team Rocket." _And having her as a lover again, I bet_, Gary added silently. "If you don't start making progress," he continued aloud, "then he might just decide to calibrate it on _you_."

Gary stormed out of the torture chamber, leaving a nearly prostrate technician babbling in fear.

***

Ash was holding onto Tracey's hand, listening to his story. "How did they find you?" Ash asked.

"I don't know Ash," Tracey sighed. "I think that Professor Oak had been looking from the day we left Pallet, but he wasn't sure until recently. He sent an agent to make a positive ID the day before Gary attacked. She had the weirdest hairdo, in _green_ of all things… and she had a Ditto."

"Duplicia?" Ash blurted.

"Yeah, that was the name she used," Tracey said. "You know her?"

"I _thought_ I did," Ash said. "Tell me more."

"She was the most sadistic, cruel…" Tracey said quietly. "She enjoyed handing us over… I think she was going to have her Ditto rip poor Scyther to bits for laughs… How is he anyway?"

"They're all in rejuvenation right now," Ash said thoughtfully. "They should all make it." He shook his head and sighed deeply. "I can't believe that Duplicia was in on this! She was the nicest person I've ever met!"

"She said that we were traitors to the League and that she had a duty to bring us down," Tracey said bitterly. "But that was just a rationalisation, I could see it. She _enjoyed_ being cruel."

Ash nodded sadly. She was another past friend who turned out to be nothing of the kind. "Try to rest, Tracey," he said. "And don't worry about my Mom. _We'll_ handle that from here on in."

***

"I'm sorry, Ash, but it is completely out of the question," Giovanni said. Ash was standing in his office. He had never seen the young man look so desperate. He was _begging_, something he had never seen him do before. "I am genuinely sorry about your mother," Giovanni continued in a gentler tone of voice, "but I cannot have my agents going rushing off on private _vendettas_ whenever it suits them."

"Sir, I _must_ help her," Ash begged desperately. "Don't you see that this is because of _me_? Professor Oak only wants her because of her relationship to me! I got her into this, and now I've got to get her out!"

"Ash, this is probably a trap, have you thought of that?" Giovanni said. "She is the bait to get to you. You're too important…" Giovanni cut himself off before he said too much. "You are too experienced an Agent for them to miss a chance to force you to join them," he corrected himself.

"I know it is a trap," Ash said firmly. "But it doesn't matter."

"It does to me," Giovanni said firmly. He sighed. "Ash, I'm sorry, but this subject is closed," he said. "I want you to go back to your base. When you get there, you and the rest your team are restricted to the base for the next four weeks."

"Four weeks!" Ash said. "By then…"

"By then she will either be dead or brainwashed. Either way, she won't be a threat to you anymore," Giovanni said, feeling like dirt for forcing the boy to face these facts. "I'm sorry Ash, but it is better for everyone this way. The Cause must come first. Dismissed."

Ash stood there, vibrating with outrage for a second. Giovanni watched as his shoulders slumped and he turned to walk out of the office slowly. _I hope I haven't gone to far,_ Giovanni thought. _I can't risk breaking his spirit, but I can't risk him like this… I can't risk any of my people, no matter how much I owe her._"

***

Ash was very quiet on the journey back to Seashell Base. Raichu quickly gave up even trying to talk to his Trainer, who had sunk deep inside himself in introspection and self-accusation. No matter how Ash thought about it, it was his fault. By the simple accident of his birth, he seemed to be ruining lives left right and centre. Now, most horribly, his mother, a gentle and kind woman who had never hurt anyone in her life, was at the mercy of an amoral killer, simply because she _was_ his mother.

Ash's brows lowered dangerously. Finding her would be difficult if it were not for one tiny error Professor Oak had made. There was one person involved in this entire mess who might be persuaded to help him recover his mother… by hook or by crook, if necessary. 

Raichu noticed the slightly dangerous smirk on his Trainer's face and felt a bit worried about it. [What are you thinking about, Ash?] he asked one more time.

"I'm thinking that finding Mom might be easier than The Boss thinks," Ash said. He then refused to elaborate, frustrating his first and best Pokémon to no end.

Within a half-hour, Ash was in Seashell Base. Because Jessie and James were there, Misty didn't immediately launch herself into her lover's arms. That was something she could keep until they had some privacy. "Ash, what happened?" she asked, looking at the devastated look on Ash's face.

"Its'… a long story," Ash said. After a moment he continued. "The short version is that I found out where my Mom has been staying all these years."

"Uh… shouldn't that be a _good_ thing?" Misty asked, her bright green eyes reflecting her confusion.

"No," Ash replied in a low, angry tone. "Because Gary got there first. He's taken her… God, I don't know where and by now Professor Oak has either raped her or worse." Ash sagged and covered his face. "Tracey was there too… he got in the way and Gary broke his back for him… he may never walk again…" Ash started crying. "I… I'm not sure… I'm not sure I can take this," he managed to grate out.

The other White Rockets closed in around him and managed to get Ash to his private room in the 'cabin.'

A few hours later, Misty came to visit Ash. He was sitting at a small desk and working on one of the base's computer terminals. Misty couldn't see what was on the screen that was so fascinating. "Uh… this is probably a stupid question, but how are you doing?" Misty said.

"I'm actually a bit better," Ash said. "Misty, I've got to talk to you." Misty gave him a strange look, then closed the door to give them privacy. Ash gestured for her to sit down next to him before continuing. "Look, Misty, the Boss has ordered us to stay at the base for the next month," he explained. "He has forbidden me to look for Mom, and has told me he can't afford the resources to send anyone else."

Misty sighed and shook her head. "I wish I was surprised," she said. "Sometimes I think the 'fighting for freedom and liberty' bit during training was for propaganda purposes only."

Ash smiled slightly. "Well, the Boss has his own priorities," he said. "But I have mine. I'm going to get her, Misty. I don't care what he says, and I am going after her, fully aware that there is a trap somewhere here."

Misty nodded and smiled too. "My hero," she said with a laugh. "Ash, do you have the slightest idea where she might be?"

"No, but I know someone who does," Ash said. Misty simply looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She hated it when he got all mysterious like this, and she wouldn't let him get away with it. He sighed and turned around the monitor of his computer. On the screen was http://tangelo.island.gov.kto/events, the local entertainment page run by Tangelo Island's council. The main event, with a full blow-up picture of the star announced: 'World-famous Imaté Master performs in Tangelo City today!'

"Duplicia?" Misty said, looking at the picture in surprise. "What does she know?"

"She is working for the Oaks," Ash explained.

Misty gasped. "Oh no, how could she?"

Ash shrugged. Thinking back, perhaps it wasn't so strange, after all. "She always was a bit weird, loving imitating people and things. There was never any indication that there ever _was_ a 'Duplicia,' only the perfect mimic. Tracey said she enjoyed it, and given how she was willing to let Team Rocket get away with Pikachu if she got a fully trained Ditto back…"

Misty nodded. "There was always a coldness about her," she agreed. "Even so…"

"Misty, I know how you feel, but Tracey described her perfectly," Ash said quietly. "Duplicia is the weak link, and I mean to get her to tell me where they took my Mom." He drew in a deep breath. "Warm up our blimp, Misty, and get the other four loaded up. We're going on a big job this time."

"What about Jessie and James?" Misty asked.

"I'll deal with them," Ash said darkly.

***

Ash was in the armoury of the base. He finished strapping on the double-strap bandoleer that he had designed for when he wanted all of his Pokémon with him at one time. All his Pokéballs were on the bandoleer. Raichu (who _never_ used his ball, but had one anyway), Kadabra, Rose-Roar the Ivysaur, Firestorm the Charizard, Flame the Ninetails, Wartortle, Wings the Pidgeot, Rage the Gyarados, Rhyhorn, Sandshrew, and his assigned Umbreon and Espeon. He was now putting on the last parts of his body armour.

"Ash, what the hell are you doing?" Jessie asked. Ash rolled his eyes. He knew he wouldn't just be able to walk out of here without them noticing, but that didn't mean he was looking for a confrontation.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Jessie?" he asked, laying on the irony with a shovel.

"It looks like you're disobeying a direct order," Jessie snapped. "Well forget it, Ketchum, we're not letting you do it!"

"So, you are proposing that I allow an innocent woman suffer who knows what torments when I can stop it?" Ash asked.

Jessie nearly exploded again. While she fumed, James leapt into the breach. "Ash, you were ordered not to leave base," he reminded the younger man. "We can't let you go."

"I'm not abandoning my mom, James," Ash replied simply.

"Ash, you don't _have_ a family anymore, apart from the Cause," Jessie shouted.

Ash looked at the redhead with an expression of scorn. "If you really believe that," he said, "then I pity you." Ash turned back to the armoury locker and pulled his rifle off of its rack. He pulled back the cocking lever and looked into the breech. Clear. Good.

Jessie was going apoplectic with anger. "Damn it, Ketchum, you do this and you will be finished. Team Rocket will hunt you down and, God help me, I will be first in line!" Ash ignored her. Jessie was getting desperate. "Blast it, Ash, don't you understand that you have a _future_? Don't throw it away over some dumb emotion!"

This time, Ash did stop. After a long moment he turned around. "I'm not going to do it, Jessie," he said. Suddenly he started walking forward. Jessie and James began to back off nervously as the younger field agent walked towards them, his eyes sparkling with rage and his whole posture reeking of suppressed violence. "I am not going to kill everything human in me to make myself a good little Rocket the way Butch and Cassidy have done. I am not going to forget the people to whom I owe my life and everything good that has ever happened to me. And I as sure as hell am not going to leave my own _mother_ at the mercy of a man that I know _has_ no mercy!"

Jessie swallowed nervously. "Ash…" she said helplessly.

"Ash, you… you can't…" James said lamely.

Ash turned around and walked back to the weapons locker. He pulled a 40-round .22-cal magazine out. Jessie recovered her wits slightly. "Ash, we have got to report this to the Boss," she warned. "You _know_ how he will react."

Ash slid the 40-round magazine into his rifle and pulled back the cocking lever. "Jessie," he said with simple certainty, "I am going to rescue my mother and God help anyone who stands in the way. So, you can either help, or you can get out of my way because I am getting very bad at telling friend from foe these days!" Ash inadvertently tapped Jessie on the chest with the barrel of his rifle. She swallowed, suddenly feeling very, _very_ vulnerable.

Suddenly James groaned out loud. "Oh for God's sake, Ash. Give me one of those guns!"

"Why?" Ash asked. Jessie looked a bit surprised too.

"Because we're coming with you," James said. "The Boss may have forbidden you to go after your mother," James continued with a sparkle in his eye, "but he didn't forbid _us_. And he didn't restrict your team from helping us out if we ask."

"James Morgan… you are crazy!" Jessie announced.

"You don't have a family, Jessie," James said. "You don't know what it is like, but I know how I'd feel if a member of my family were in danger." Jessie looked about to protest, but she saw something in James' eyes, a resolution and a certainty that wasn't normally there. After a long moment, she nodded firmly and reached into the armoury herself.

**__**

Chapter 4 – The Flames of Vengeance

Duplicia sighed in relief as she walked through the forest. She enjoyed performing for the entertainment (and education) of the masses, but like all _true_ Pokémon Trainers, she only ever felt _really_ comfortable out in the forest, among the creatures that she had chosen to spend her life domesticating and putting to a useful task.

She felt particularly good this week. Not only had her first tour of the Orange Islands got off to a wonderful start, she had also managed to pay back an old debt to the Pokémon Master himself, and serve the best interests of the League.

Duplicia, if she were the sort of person to go in to self-examination, would realise that she was a contradictory sort. She was no fan of violence or of 'action,' but she wasn't a nice person, and she had absolutely no compunction to use the most… aggressive… of methods for training her Pokémon. She would be horrified if someone were to suggest to her that she were cruel or sadistic, but, on the other hand, she genuinely felt that one should enjoy a victory, and should make the other understand that they _were _beaten.

Right now, Duplicia was walking in the woods near Tangelo City, whistling a tune she was making up on the go. She walked into a circular clearing; blissfully unaware that she was walking right into a trap, until it was too late. "Prepare for _trouble_,"

"And make it _double!_"

"To protect the world from devastation," 

"To unite all peoples of our nation," 

"To expound the joys of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Misty,"

"Ash,"

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender, or prepare to fight!"

"Raichu! Rai-ai-rai!"

Two people and a Raichu leapt out of the trees and landed right in front of the amazed young woman. A few seconds later, a Togetic fluttered down to join them. The first person was a tall, heavily built man with chaotic black hair. The other was a tall and athletic ginger-haired woman. Duplicia recognised them, of course. They were the arch-traitors, the Trainers who had done so much to cheapen the image of the League and their calling. "You!" she shouted. "Well, I got one of your kind, why not get the rest!"

Duplicia drew the Pokéball containing her first Pokémon, a Ditto, and threw it forwards. "Ditto!" Ditto shouted as it materialised. 

"Ditto, Venusaur," Duplicia ordered. There was a flash of yellow light as the morphing-type mimicked the largest and most powerful of the plant-type. "Ditto, bind 'em with your vine whips!" she ordered.

Ash actually smiled. "Go, Firestorm," he shouted, throwing a grey-and-white Super-ball. A Charizard materialised, one far larger than any Duplicia had seen before.

"Use Solar Blast," Duplicia ordered.

"Agile," Ash responded. The golden-yellow energy bolt missed the Charizard by a wide margin. Duplicia just got the impression that she should change Ditto into a water-type instead, but it was too late. "Flame Spin," Ash cried. The Charizard generated a hollow spherical fireball that flashed down and surrounded Ditto. In the form of a plant-type, he was hideously vulnerable to such an attack. "And finish it with Pound," Ash continued. The Charizard slammed his back feet hard against the "Venusaur's" back. 

"Dit… tooooohhh," Ditto moaned, slipping back to its' default shape and losing consciousness.

Duplicia suddenly felt panic in her heart. She wasn't a coward, but she suddenly realised she was outgunned. She would have to make a distraction if she were to get away. She recalled Ditto and pulled another Pokéball. "Go Machoke!" she shouted, releasing her recently acquired fighting-type (who did scene shifting in her shows). "Tackle, Machoke!"

Machoke charged forwards, just as Misty said, "Togetic, Psi Beam!" The concentrated bolt of psychic energy caught the charging fighting-type and blasted it right into unconsciousness. 

Duplicia was already running, but she didn't get more than ten paces before a massive electric shock flashed through her body, making her muscles cramp and freeze up. She hit the ground with a scream. Before she could even think of using Abra or Ampharos, someone seized her and dragged her to her feet. 

Duplicia moaned in pain as Misty twisted her arms behind her. Ash made a show of taking a moment to thank Firestorm kindly for his bravery and skill before walking over to the terrified Imaté artiste. "Hello, Duplicia," he said. "Its' been a long time."

"Too long, you traitor," Duplicia hissed. "How could you do it? How could you betray the calling that gave you _everything?_"

"Its' quite simple," Ash replied. "It, in the form of Professor Oak, betrayed me first. So, you could argue that I was acting in self-defence when I joined Team Rocket, right Misty?" Misty laughed from where she was holding Duplicia immobile as painfully as she could. "But enough of your accusations," Ash said. "I know you were involved in the kidnapping of my mother."

"Kidnapping?" Duplicia snapped. "It was an arrest! She is a criminal, just like you!"

Ash shook his head. "Duplicia, Duplicia, Duplicia," he sighed. "What am I going to do with you? Ah! I know." The slap came from nowhere and the woman shrieked in surprise as the impact rocked her sideways, stretching the tendons in her near-dislocated shoulders even more. "You are the criminal, you stupid bitch," Ash hissed. "You have aided self-confessed thieves and the people who tried to _murder_ me and Misty for no better reason than we _might_ be a threat some time in the future. You assaulted Pokémon with _lethal force_, something _no_ Trainer should do. And you dare accuse _us_ of betraying our calling?"

Duplicia was slowly recovering her wits and she looked at Ash scornfully. "Please, spare me," she said in a bored tone of voice. "I haven't got the time for you bleeding hearts, worrying about how your precious 'friends' are hurt. If they lose, then they deserve the pain. Maybe they'll learn from it."

Misty growled dangerously and twisted Duplicia's arms tighter, making the woman scream in pain. "You are a sadistic little shit, you know that don't you?" Misty hissed into her ear.

"Misty," Ash warned. Misty lessened the tension on Duplicia's arms, but not by much. "Now, you are going to tell me where Gary took my mother."

"Forget it, Ketchum," Duplicia snapped. "I'm no traitor to the League. I'll tell you _nothing_… except to kiss my rosy red…" Ash hit her again, if only for effect this time.

"You will tell me _everything_," Ash said. "And then you will help us rescue my mother. What is more, you will do so with a song of joy in your heart."

"Or what?" Duplicia jeered. "I know your kind; you come on tough, but you are too gutless to do anything. That is why Gary is better than you, Ash. He isn't afraid to do _whatever_ it takes."

"Duplicia, you really don't know anything about me do you?" Ash said gently. He stepped forward, holding his survival knife. "My mother is one of the few people in the world that I would die to protect. And, by a funny trick of psychology, she is also one of the few people I would _kill_ to protect."

Misty's eyes widened. She hadn't expected this. Ash's face was taking on that mad, dangerous look that he wore whenever he got really mad after Brock betrayed them. Duplicia was only making him angrier. "I'd listen to him, if I were you," she said, trying to put sincerity and urgency in her voice. "He really isn't the nicest guy to know when he is mad."

"Oh, I'm _really_ scared," Duplicia yawned.

"You will be," Ash said. "You see, my dear Duplicia, I am _not_ the sort of person to kill in cold blood, but between here and there is an ocean of pain." He reached forward and put the blade of his knife up Duplicia's nose. "Now, I am going to take you on a little guided tour across it. If, as you say, you should learn from the pain of defeat, then you'll be qualified for a master's degree by the time I'm finished." Ash suddenly and savagely jerked his knife away from Duplicia's face, slicing open her right nostril. The woman screamed in agony, blood streaming down her face.

"Christ, Ash," Misty said in horror. Only her professionalism kept her holding her prisoner, who was now writhing desperately, trying to escape.

There followed the most painful few minutes of Misty's life up to that point. Ash proceeded to cut and jab Duplicia in dozens of places designed to maximise her pain. Tears were pouring down her face, mingling with her blood, but still, no matter how much she screamed, she would not talk.

Misty was close to breaking herself, only her loyalty to Ash held her, that and her sudden realisation that this was all a horrible bluff. That Ash wasn't going to torture Duplicia to death, that he just couldn't do such a thing. Even so, he knew enough from the Field Interrogation courses at Headquarters to make Duplicia's existence incredibly painful. Misty knew she would have nightmares about this for years to come. From the look on Ash's face, so would he.

Duplicia was just a hired gun really, and she wasn't all that brave when _she_ was the one being hurt. The continual pain finally broke her fragile resolution. "I'LL TALK!" Duplicia screamed at the top of her voice. "I'LL HELP YOU… PLEASE GOD, JUST DON'T CUT ME ANYMORE!"

"You see, Misty? She can be reasonable," Ash said. Only Misty (and Jessie and James, who were hiding behind a tree, their mouths covered to stop themselves from crying out in horror) saw the disgust, anger and self-loathing that Ash felt at being forced to do this.

***

A van with the name 'Duplicia's Travelling Imaté House' stencilled on its' side sat on a hill near Vermilion City. A young woman with green hair, and numerous dressings on her face, sat in the driver's seat, only too aware of the assault rifle pointing at her from behind the thin metal wall separating the driving compartment from the cargo compartment. 

Ash was looking at the distant facility through his binoculars. 'Oak Industries Incorporated – Vermilion Research Unit' read the big sign at the entrance. What gave away that this was no ordinary corporate R&D unit were the UNDF Peacekeeper soldiers guarding it. "This is the place?" Ash demanded of his prisoner.

Duplicia nodded, a bitter expression on her face. "The UNGC didn't want her held in a regular prison, so the Professor offered the use of one of his research centres," she explained.

"That's pretty typical. Take us in."

"They'll never let me in," Duplicia protested, turning to look at Ash through the ventilation grid. "I am just a civilian auxiliary, they didn't even let me off of the helicopter when we arrived."

"Well, then you'd better be extra-convincing, hadn't you?" Ash said quietly. Duplicia heard the safety catch on the gun covering her snap off. She swallowed a desire to start crying again and started the van's engine.

The van drove down towards the main entrance gate. A PK guard walked out of his sentry box and waved Duplicia down. "This is a restricted area," he said in a bored tone. "I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to turn back."

"Auxiliary Maxine Simmonds, serial AMX-335-010-770-APP, codename 'Switcheroo,'" Duplicia said immediately.

The guard pulled out a PDA. "Hold on, checking that," he said. He tapped in a few commands into his palmtop. He looked up in suspicion. "Evening, Ms Simmonds. What happened to your face?"

"I fell down the stairs at a hotel of all things," Duplicia said with a slight laugh. "Look, soldier, I have to talk to Colonel Oak. I have information about when Ash Ketchum is planning to move against this facility."

The soldier hesitated for a few seconds. This was hardly normal procedure, and he knew that Duplicia had a route for contacting Gary without actually visiting him. "Move it!" Duplicia shouted, her voice filled with anger (or maybe terror). "Or would you prefer explaining to the Professor why you delayed me until it was too late to achieve the prime objective of this mission?"

The soldier swallowed. "No Ma'am," he said. "You're authorisation is in order. Proceed to the main courtyard." The soldier stood aside and gestured for her to drive on.

Duplicia made a show of rolling her eyes in disgust and put the van back in gear again. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Ash asked quietly.

"I hope they cut you to pieces, Traitor," she snapped back, finding a little of her bravado returning to her.

"Tut, tut, Duplicia. 'Sticks and stones' and all that."

***

The van pulled into a central square surrounded by single-storey research buildings. "Where is she being kept?" Ash asked quietly.

"I don't know," Duplicia said, "but most of this facility is underground. If she's anywhere…"

"I agree," Ash said. "Now sit tight. This is going to get a bit rough."

At that moment, Gary strode out of the 'east' building, wearing a ferocious frown. "Duplicia, what the hell are you doing back here?" he shouted. "You can't just 'visit' whenever you feel like it. You'll blow a mile-wide hole in our security…"

"Uh… Gary, I came to WARN you that KETCHUM is on his way RIGHT NOW!" Duplicia said, starting to sweat nervously. Ash actually started laughing under his breath when he realised that the woman was trying to warn Gary in a subtle way. What a pity that Gary was far too stupid to take a hint. Ash nodded to the rest of his team. They selected their first Pokémon and got ready to go.

"I know that, idiot," Gary said. "We're expecting him, remember?"

"NO!" Duplicia said. "I mean that… Oh, why do I bother? GARY! HE'S IN THE VAN RIGHT NOW!" Her voice rose to a scream. It was a surprisingly heroic thing to do, really, but also an utterly futile one.

Duplicia's van literally exploded open. Ash's Rhyhorn charged right at Gary, who barely dived aside in time. Simultaneously, Jurassic, Rocketboy's Aerodactyl, and Misty's Dragonite rose from the wreckage of the van and into the sky.

Everything was simply going too quickly for the stunned PKs to react. Jurassic, with Rocketboy riding on his back, began to pick off the guard towers with precision-aimed Omni-blast attacks. Simultaneously, Dragonite used Tempest to whip the dry, dusty ground into a blinding sandstorm. The Rockets, all wearing thermal imaging goggles, were unaffected.

"Substation in the north building!" Naomi shouted after checking a Gauss sensor.

"Gotcha!" Ash replied. He pointed at the building Naomi had identified. "Okay Rhyhorn! Avalanche Charge!" The massive rock-type charged right at the building and smashed it open like it was a house of cards. Unsurprisingly, apart from a few stunned guards it was empty. As Duplicia had said, most of the facility was underground. What _was_ visible was the main electrical switching gear. "You're up, Raichu, use Thunderball!"

"Rai-CHU!" The electric squirrel unleashed a massive crackling ball of lightning, which struck the electrical substation, causing it to literally melt down with a massive explosion of blue-white sparks. 

A klaxon finally started ringing, something like two minutes too late. Gary was finally getting his head together too. He pulled out a Pokéball. "I've been waiting for this chance Ketchum!" he shouted.

"So have I, Gary," Ash replied.

Gary released a Bayleef that Ash felt sure he _knew_ from somewhere. "Use Vine Whip on that Rhyhorn!" Gary commanded. The Bayleef reached out and grabbed Rhyhorn. Rock-types are vulnerable to plant-types, besides which Rhyhorn still had quite a low experience level, so he didn't stand a chance. After a few slams and bashes, the Bayleef dropped the unconscious Rhyhorn in a heap.

"Damn," Ash growled, recalling the stunned rock-type. He was already reaching for Flame's Pokéball, when he decided to do the unexpected. "Raichu, use Thunder-shock," he ordered. The electrical attack flared around the plant-type making it roar in pain. It reached out with its' vine-whips, but the agile Raichu easily dodged its' first attack. "That's right, Raichu, keep it off-balance!" he shouted. 

"Use Razor Leaf you useless weed!" Gary spat. Once again, Raichu's agility was more than enough to avoid the attack.

"Now use Thunder again!" Ash ordered. Another attack hit the plant-type. This time it staggered and almost fell.

Gary wasn't stupid, and he also knew every Pokémon's vulnerable spot: It's trainer. "Use vine whip on _him_," he snapped, pointing at Ash. The Bayleef reached out and grabbed Ash in a crushing grip and lifted him off of the ground.

"Rai-ai!" [Ash!] Raichu yelled. He was afraid to use another electrical attack because he knew it would affect Ash too.

"Not so smart now, eh, rat?" Gary laughed cruelly. "Bayleef, crush that brat with your vine whips."

The Bayleef looked at Ash and he felt the whips tighten, but, strangely, it wasn't too bad. _What the hell?_ Ash thought. The plant-type was looking at him very closely now, almost as if it was trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, it pulled him close and _sniffed him._ Ash smelt something… a rose scent unlike any other he had smelt before, except once… "Chikorita?" Ash said, his voice horrified. It was one thing to _know_ that Gary had stolen and brainwashed all his Pokémon, but it was another to be _attacked _by one. It was Gary's idea of a joke, probably.

But still, the attack did not come. Bayleef (once Ash's Chikorita) was looking at him, its' blue eyes filled with pain and confusion. "Baylee…?" she said. Suddenly, Ash remembered that his Chikorita always called him 'Chikori.' Was Bayleef saying his name? Could she… remember?

"Bayleef… KILL HIM!" Gary roared. The plant-type jumped and looked at her new Trainer in confusion. Then she looked back at Ash, her face twisted with disorientation.

"You… you recognise me, don't you Bayleef? Or should I say 'Chikorita?'" Ash said, his voice suddenly certain. Perhaps Professor Oak's evil wasn't as all conquering as he thought…

"Baylee!" [Ashy!] Bayleef suddenly said joyfully. She pulled Ash close and rubbed against him joyfully and lovingly. "Leef-Baylee!" [My Ashy!]

"Aargh… it's good to see you again, Bayleef," Ash groaned. "But… if you could loosen the vine whips a little?"

[Oh! Yeah, sorry, Ashy,] Bayleef said in some embarrassment. She loosened her vine whips and continued to rub against him, love written in her every movement.

Gary was horrified. "Damn you, Grandpa!" he shouted. "You told me the process was _foolproof_! Well it doesn't' matter, I'll use my own Pokémon! They're more reliable anyway! Go Arcanine!" The fire wolf appeared at once, but Misty, on her Dragonite, had completed her attack on the base perimeter. She saw the threat at once. An Ice Beam struck Arcanine, freezing him solid. A few seconds later, Dragonite picked him up, lifted him up into the air and slammed him hard back against the ground.

Gary responded immediately by unleashing his Feragatyr, but Ash was back in action. "Raichu, use Lightning Bolt on that lizard!" he shouted. "Bayleef, use Stun Spore on Gary!"

Raichu's most powerful electrical attack fried the big evolved water-type before it could even get set up for an opening attack. Simultaneously, Bayleef sprinkled a strange sparkling dust on Gary, who staggered, his expression becoming uncertain. "No…" he whispered. "Not so easily…" He drew another Pokéball. "Go Aerodactyl!" His earth/flying-type materialised as Gary fell to his knees. "Aerodactyl… fly me… home…" 

Gary blacked out from the stun spores, but Aerodactyl already had her orders. She picked her Trainer up in her talons and flew off to the north, carrying his limp body beneath her.

Bayleef watched him go, her expression angry as the shadows of four years of slavery slowly receded from her mind. Ash watched as she charged her own Solar Blast attack. [I can't miss at this range, Ashy,] she said. [_Please_ let me…]

"No, Bayleef," Ash said quietly. "There's time enough for that later. Right now, we've got to rescue my mom." Bayleef looked at him and nodded in agreement.

Ash walked through the chaos accompanied by his two friends. Naomi had caught a guard and was interrogating him with the help of Buzz, her Beedrill. Those powerful foreleg drills were a formidable weapon. More importantly, they were quite a threat, as a young PK trooper was finding out. "She's in the fourth sublevel!" he shouted. "East Building, now _please_ call it off!"

"Okay," Naomi agreed, and cold-cocked the grunt with one punch.

"East Building?" Ash asked. The girl nodded. "Okay, Bayleef, this is my friend Naomi. I want you to stay with her and help her out while I go downstairs, okay?" The plant-type nodded eagerly, glad to be back in the service of her beloved once again.

Ash pulled out a Super-Ball and released Firestorm. "Okay, Firestorm!" he shouted, gesturing to the damaged East Building, "Smash me a hole!"

"CHARRR!" Firestorm roared. He unleashed a massive fire attack that literally _slagged_ the building. A few seconds later, a Pound attack straight from hell collapsed the floor into the first sublevel. 

Ash and Raichu jumped in. Rocketboy, accompanied by his two Nidorans, Buster and Babs, followed him in. "Okay, Raichu, get everyone's head down!" Ash ordered. Raichu unleashed an omni-directional Stun Shock. Ash and Rocketboy charged down the hallway towards the nearest stairwell past several comatose UN technicians and PK guards.

On the surface, Duplicia finally decided it was safe to come out from beneath the wreckage of her van. She reached into the ruined cargo compartment and pulled her Pokébelt from where Ash left it. She sucked in a deep breath and desperately tried to decide what to do next. As she watched, Naomi and Misty, with the help of Bayleef and Naomi's Paras, Puff, were herding a few terrified PK guards into a smaller and smaller area. It was a task made infinitely easier by the continuing series of Terror attacks that Togetic and Jurassic were laying down over them from the air.

Far, far, below, Ash was on the fourth sublevel. The damage caused by several electric attacks higher up had knocked out all but the most basic emergency lighting down here. He unslung his assault rifle from over his shoulder and pulled back the cocking lever. He felt uncomfortable taking the weapon into battle, but he had to be ready; Raichu couldn't watch every possible threat vector, and he had left Rocketboy up on sublevel 2, creating as much havoc as he could as a distraction.

Ash turned the corner at exactly the same time as a PK guard appeared at the other end of the semi-darkened corridor. The two men looked at each other in utter surprise before the PK raised his M-667 laser rifle. Ash's M21 was already firing. Three APTT bullets punched through the PK's chest armour and the man went down, blood spraying from the holes. There was a long silence as Ash looked at the dead thing he had put on the floor. _God… is it that easy?_ an appalled part of him asked. Ash wished that he felt bad about killing the anonymous soldier, but in truth he felt nothing at all.

Raichu butted against his legs urgently. [This is a fight as we Pokémon know it in the wild, Ash,] the electric-type said gently. [No quarter asked or given. Let's go.]

Ash got moving again. He encountered several more guards on his journey and… horribly… he had sufficient cause to use up half the first 40-round magazine for his rifle. Thank God that Raichu was able to get the rest.

Ash turned a final corner and saw several PKs manning an H&K MG-3 heavy machine gun. Ash dived forwards as 7.62mm bullets tore up the wall behind him. Still rolling as the machine gun tracked towards him, he released Flame, his Ninetails, and shouted "Flame-thrower!" There was a massive firestorm down the enclosed corridor, followed by the most horrible screams Ash had heard in his entire life, then silence.

Feeling sick to the core, Ash walked down the hallway and found that, unfortunately, one of the PKs was still alive. Ash managed to remember what he was doing there in this charnel house from hell. He grabbed the horribly burnt soldier and thrust the barrel of his Auto-Nine pistol against his throat. "Where's my mother, scum?" he hissed, desperate to get this over with _now_.

The man looked up at Ash in incomprehension, and it suddenly dawned on the Rocket that the guy probably didn't know who his mother was. Ash shook his head to clear the red haze of battle from his wits. "Where is Delilah Ketchum?" he clarified, his voice gentler and more reasonable.

The PK pointed to a doorway opposite. Of course, they were guarding his mother. It made sense that the Professor would have some guards on his prize prisoner. The PK grabbed the front of Ash's body armour and made a bubbling noise. Ash leaned closer. "What…?" he swallowed his nausea. "What is it, buddy? I can give you something for the pain…" The man nodded eagerly and Ash noticed that he was looking at his pistol, still near his face. "You… you _want _me to shoot?" Ash said, his voice desolate with horror.

The man nodded once and closed his eyes, the last prayer he was capable of in his mutilated state. Ash aimed and pulled the trigger, putting the man out of his misery once and for all. After being sick in a corner, he had to reassure Flame, who was responding empathetically to his own self-loathing, that she had done nothing wrong. _He_ was the Trainer. _He _gave the orders, and _he_ would have to stand before the Judgement Seat for it. Oh, it was war, as Giovanni always said, but that didn't make Ash feel any better about it. 

Ash was now angry enough with himself and the whole damninable situation that he wasn't about to waste time on the door. "Hey in there!" he shouted. "Cover your ears and open your mouth. I mean it!" He transferred his front hand to the trigger of his rifle's underslung M-203 grenade launcher. The explosion was deafening this far underground, but Ash's ear protectors, part of his TR headgear that made him look a bit like the soldier in 'Doom,' protected his hearing.

He charged in through the blazing doorframe and found a sight for sore eyes huddling on a mattress in the far corner. "M… Mom?" Ash asked.

The woman, whose face was pale and tormented, looked up at Ash in incomprehension. Man and woman looked at each other for a long moment before the woman staggered to her feet. "Who… who are you?" she asked.

"Mom, its' me… Ash!" he said, stepping forward. He remembered Giovanni's warning about brainwashing. Did she even know who _she _was anymore? He pulled off the concealing helmet and tried again. "Mom, don't you remember all those years in Pallet… me always getting in trouble and you having to come over to Gary and May's house to pick me up?"

"A… Ash?" Delilah whispered, tears streaming down her bruised and cut face. "Ash, if it is you… what… what should you always change, every day?"

Ash laughed in relief. She _did_ remember. "My 'you-know-whats,' Mom; my underwear. And I still do, much to the relief of everyone at the base."

"ASH!" Delilah screamed and threw herself into his arms. "Oh thank God you're here… thank God you've come for me! They were going to… going to…"

"I know Mom," Ash said, shushing her gently. "It's all right now… No-one will ever hurt you again," Ash swore that as he hugged her hard. Strange that he was taller than she was now and she could bury her face against his chest as a child named Ash did against _hers_ so many years before…

It took the combined efforts of Ash, Raichu and Flame to calm Delilah down enough to the point where Ash could lead her through the devastated base back to the surface. 

The battle was, at last over. The last PK was either dead or tied up and sitting in the landing field to the north waiting for the eventual clean-up crew from Vermilion City's Security Police force to turn up. Naomi had sucked the last byte of data from the damaged base computer system and Rocketboy had finished setting the demolition charges. The air was, despite the smell of smoke and cordite, strangely clear as Ash recalled Firestorm to his Super-ball.

Delilah hugged his arm nervously as she looked at the other three heavily armed young people. "Ash… who are they?" she whispered. 

Ash hugged her reassuringly. "Come on, Mom, you recognise Misty don't you? The other two are Naomi and Rocketboy, they're my friends."

If Rocketboy's eyes bulged out a little at being described as his team leader's 'friend,' he controlled his disbelief well. "Its' a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ketchum," he said courteously, giving her a nervous grin and wave.

"It is a great honour to meet the mother of such a great hero," Naomi said in her worshipful tone of voice that she used when she was _really_ impressed with someone's reputation. She _barely_ stopped short of curtseying to Delilah.

"Hello, Delilah," Misty said. She looked so different: a woman now, her hair wild and tangled after the fight, Togetic sitting on her shoulder and her G11 rifle slung over her other shoulder, but she was still, at heart, the mischievous little girl who had shared a table at Delilah's home for four off-seasons.

"Misty!" Delilah gasped, and hugged the young woman hard. "Now I know everything is true… that Tracey said…" she suddenly began to cry. "Oh God… Tracey… poor Tracey…"

"Tracey is alive Mom," Ash said, touching her on the shoulder. "He is still very sick after the beating these beasts gave him, but he will live." Time enough to tell her the rest later. Delilah was still crying, but even the less-than-perceptive Ash knew they were tears of joy this time.

Delilah saw Bayleef walk up close and gasped. "Ash!" she said. "That's one of Gary's Pokémon!"

Ash laughed. "No, Mom, she's one of mine. You knew her as Chikorita, but she's back now, evolved and all the stronger for it." Ash pressed a button on his walkie-talkie, summoning Jessie, James, Buddy and Holly in the blimp. It was time to leave.

Duplicia waited in the shadows, fingering Ditto's Pokéball. Seeing Bayleef, a traitor like her first Trainer, finally decided her. She wouldn't achieve much, but she would make that traitor know a little pain. Hell, if she was lucky she might even pick off one or more of this brotherhood of betrayal. She drew in a deep breath to stimulate a rush of adrenaline and sweep away the last of her fear, then she charged.

"Ash Ketchum, this is your time," she screamed, throwing the Pokéball. "Ditto, Charizard!" Ditto emerged and flashed into the shape of a Charizard. "Use Flame-thrower on that Bayleef!"

"Bayleef, use Leaf Cloud," Ash shouted in response, already knowing that it would be useless. He was pulling another Pokéball off of his bandoleer. As he expected, the fire attack blasted through Bayleef's defence without stopping and knocked her out. Everyone was scattering for cover; Misty landed on top of Delilah, shielding her with her own body.

Ash gestured for Raichu to go out to the right flank. "Thunder," he said. The electric shock hit Ditto, nearly knocking it out of the air. "Ditto, Onyx," Duplicia shouted. "Now use Body Slam on that electric rat!"

"Rage, I choose you!" Ash said, releasing his Gyarados. "Use Water Cannon on the Onyx!"

"GYYYYRRRRR!" Rage bellowed as he slithered forward. The Water Cannon attack hit Ditto in the face, knocking him back. The water soaked his entire body, weakening the rock that made up most of his structure in his current form.

Ash wasn't about to let the morphing-type have time to respond. "Ice Beam!" This new attack froze the water already infiltrating the mimicked rock structure of the Ditto/Onyx, causing it to fracture and fragment. Bits of rock began to fall from his body. The creature moaned in agony as Ash prepared to issue the final order to his water snake. He would hate himself for doing this later, but a tiny part of him realised that Ditto was infected with its' Trainer's curse. It liked hurting people too. It didn't sit well with Ash, being judge, jury and executioner, but if it taught Duplicia a lesson… "Rage, use Dragon Rage!"

Rage curved forward and body-slammed Ditto, knocking him back. He head-butted the rock snake hard, snapping its head back, then curved his coils around the weakening morphing-type's length and tightened his muscles as hard as he could. There was a sickening 'snap' and the Ditto/Onyx's glowing yellow eyes suddenly blinked out like an extinguished flashlight. "Okay, Rage," Ash said, regret colouring his voice, "return." Rage scowled, but permitted himself to be returned to his Aqua-type Pokéball.

As Ash watched, the Onyx collapsed to the ground with a massive 'thump,' and then shrunk into a shapeless pink blob the size of a domestic cat. The blob continued to shrink down, drying out as it did so, until nothing was left but an anonymous pile of grey dust that blew away with the breeze.

There was an appalled silence. "Ditto…" Duplicia said, her face horrified. "Ditto… oh… oh no!"

"It isn't so good when it happens to _you_ is it, Duplicia?" Ash said severely. "Perhaps you will learn from this, as you say others should."

"Don't waste any sympathy on her," Delilah snapped. "She was ready to have that monster of hers tear Tracey's Scyther limb-from-limb for her entertainment."

Ash nodded. Tracey had told him something like that had happened. "Come on," Ash said. "Let's go." 

As they watched, Jessie and James piloted the blimp down, ready to receive the strike team. First on board was Delilah, who went right into Holly's care. Next went Naomi, clutching the sack of memory modules full of data pirated from the base computer network, and then Rocketboy.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Misty asked.

"No," Ash replied, his expression grim. "I hate being in a war. I want to finish this as soon as possible."

Misty sighed and nodded.

Suddenly a voice rang across the battlefield. Duplicia. "Ash Ketchum, you _bastard!_ Do you know how long I trained that Ditto? _Do you?_ Now I'll have to start all over again!"

Ash turned back to the Imaté Master and shook his head in contempt. "I suppose it hasn't occurred to you to mourn the death of your Pokémon because a friend has died?" Duplicia looked at him in incomprehension. "I didn't think so," Ash said. "You really are an utter failure as a Trainer, Duplicia," Ash announced. "It isn't me who has betrayed my calling, you know. You've never even been part of it, in your heart." Ash sighed, realising that his words were having no effect, and turned to leave.

Duplicia felt her world crashing down on her as Ash's words penetrated her mind. Suddenly, she realised that she hated him more than anything else in this world. She hated his betrayal, she hated his membership of Team Rocket, she hated his skill as a Trainer that had destroyed her valuable property with such consummate ease, and she hated his unflattering standards. Most of all, she hated the fact that he made her face her own inadequacies as a Trainer in such a startlingly clear light. She began to run forwards.

Suddenly, Ash heard a cry from the Blimp. "Ash, look out!" Delilah screamed.

Ash turned just in time to see Duplicia charging right at him. A switchblade was flashing in the sunlight as she ran forward, trying to impale him through the heart. Then there were two incredibly loud explosions from behind and to the right. Duplicia's head suddenly exploded in a cloud of red and yellow vapour. Her headless corpse tumbled to the ground, her knife stabbing into the earth at Ash's feet.

Ash turned to see Misty standing at the bottom of the blimp's boarding ladder, her Magnum semi-auto in her hand, smoke still rising from its barrel. Her face was pale, her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were staring blindly. She was shaking like a leaf. Ash walked over, and gently pulled the gun from her trembling hands. She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I ki… I ki… I killed… I killed her…" she whispered, shaking all over.

"Shh, I know," Ash said quietly. "You saved my life. Thank you." He hugged Misty to his chest and let her weep out her horror at having finally joined that most terrible of associations, those who had used lethal force.

***

Misty was still crying as the blimp took off. Ash watched as Duplicia's strangely pathetic corpse slowly receded from view. "Uh… boss?" Rocketboy said, standing by him. Ash looked up. Rocketboy handed him a remote detonator. "The charges," the Black Rocket said. "I thought that you…"

"Give it to my mother," Ash said, suddenly deciding that it was somehow _right_ that it should be that way. Rocketboy nodded and walked over to where Delilah was sitting in one of the rear seats. He quietly explained the mechanism to her and handed it to her.

Delilah walked up to the window and watched her former prison receding. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she flipped up the safety gate and pressed the red button hard. There was surprisingly little sound and flame. The entire area collapsed in upon itself as six levels of underground facilities collapsed in upon themselves. The crater sank down until it was twelve feet deep. Smoke began to pour from the eastern end, where Firestorm had so dramatically opened up the underground chambers to the light.

Delilah sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. Then, at last, she dropped the detonator and slumped into a seat on the other side of Ash from Misty. Ash hugged the two most important women in his life to him and looked at Jessie, who was sitting at the pilot's console. "Let's get the fuck out of here, Jessie," he said.

Jessie managed a gentle smile and turned the blimp's fat nose towards Black Island and Headquarters.

**__**

Chapter 5 – Coming to terms…

Giovanni was pacing back and forth in his office in front of Ash, Jessie, Misty, James, Rocketboy, Naomi, Buddy and Holly. "You lot…" he growled. "You're all impossible to lead! Undisciplined! _Renegades!_ I ought to have you _all_ imprisoned for life… no _dismissed!_" Giovanni walked up to the immediate cause of his apoplexy, Ash Ketchum. "Especially _you_, Mr. Ketchum! I know that you are the ringleader behind this little operation. You _deliberately_ ignored my orders to do nothing, and you went racing off after your own objectives. Well it is _not good enough! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?_" Giovanni's voice rose to a furious roar. 

"Sir," Ash replied neutrally.

"Is that 'Yes sir' sir or 'No sir' sir?" Giovanni snapped in reply.

"I just said 'sir,' sir," Ash explained. Giovanni kept his scowl on his face. It would be even worse for Team discipline if he started laughing.

"I just said 'sir,' sir," Giovanni mimicked sourly. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you, boy…"

"Um, Boss," James said. "I think I should say that you didn't give _me_ any orders about doing nothing." Jessie looked at James with a growing expression of horror. "Ash and his team were just helping…"

"Oh shut up, Mr. Morgan, you are even worse than _he_ is!" Giovanni interrupted, storming over to the lavender-haired man. "You and your useless clothes horse of a partner were _supposed_ to confirm Ketchum and Waterflower's loyalty, _not aid and abet them in a renegade operation!_"

James winced and leaned back from Giovanni's shout. Jessie mouthed "Clothes horse?" going red in outrage.

"I… God I ought to make an example of all eight of you that they will tell children about in ages to come to frighten them into brushing their teeth before going to bed." Giovanni said, pointing a shaking finger at all of them. He stormed back to his desk and slammed himself down into his plush leather chair. "But I _won't_." The eight Rockets looked at each other in surprise and, maybe, just a little glee. "_Not _because I approve of your acts, because I _don't_," Giovanni continued, "but because I know full well that you would probably _enjoy_ it. Furthermore it will only serve to continue to inflate your maddening personal reputations among my junior agents, who seem certain that you are all some sort of _superheroes_! SO! I am going to do the very worst thing in the whole world that I can to you. I am going to stick you all _back_ in the field right where I found you. You will continue doing the same menial and unglamorous field operations day after day, month after month, year after year, _decade after decade!_ And you will _stay_ there… until… until… until I can think of something even more soul-destroying to do to you! Or until _I _have had enough! Or until you _learn your lesson_, whatever the hell that is supposed to be!" 

Giovanni hit a button on his desk and the big doors to his office swung open. "Now… _GET OUT!_" he screamed, going beetroot red in the face.

Ash turned to his companions. "You heard the man!" he shouted in his best parade ground voice. "Double time! One… two… one… two…!" The eight Rockets quick-timed it out of the office. 

Once they were gone and he was safely alone, Giovanni doubled over in laughter. That was probably the most fun he had experienced in years. And the barefaced cheek of the whole pack of them: 'I just said "sir" sir,' indeed! Team Rocket was originally founded on maverick individual effort and the actions of brave people who understood that _people mattered_, and that as long as someone believed that, the dehumanising global bureaucracy would never win. It was good to see that this pioneering fighting spirit still survived in some of his young agents to this day. 

Giovanni turned on his desk monitor and pulled up a photomontage image in a Photo Editor window. The image showed Ash and Jessie from the time of their births to the present day. Included in the image was their graduation from the Trainee course and their promotion to the White Teams. There was also photo captures of Ash's two League Triumphs, Jessie's graduation (joint bottom) from Pokémon Tech, and an image of them with James and Misty, talking urgently as they disembarked from the blimp after their latest adventure.

Giovanni sat back and considered the pictorial history thoughtfully. He pulled out the dog-eared photo of Joe and Miya and looked at it for a long time. "No, not yet," he said at last, "but soon. They are almost ready now."

***

"Uh, so, do we live?" Naomi wanted to know.

"Yeah," Ash reassured the girl. _Though why, I couldn't tell you,_ he continued to himself.

"I can't believe that he called me a _Clothes Horse!_" Jessie was shouting. James was trying to calm her down and got a fan over his ear for his trouble. "And you! Talking back to the Boss! Don't you ever, _ever_ do something like that again, James. If you do, I'll… well I'll think of something terrible to do to you, be sure of that!"

Suddenly, inexplicably, James snapped. "Oh for God's sake, shut up, Jess!" he shouted. "We got out of there _alive_ didn't we?" James backed Jessie into a corner with a finger pointed at her face. "I have had enough of your tantrums and your threats, Ms. Scarlet," James continued angrily. "I will not hide from my actions and my values. Not before you and _certainly_ not before the Boss. If you don't like that… well _tough_!"

Jessie looked at James in awe. "James…" she said quietly. "Do… do you mean it…? You weren't scared?"

"Of course I was scared!" he shouted. "But that wasn't the point. We _had_ to do it, because it was the right thing to do! I would do it again in a second!"

Jessie, amazingly, grinned in response. "My man…" she whispered. "My idiotic, simple-minded, good-natured, courageous, righteous, all-fighting, _man_!" Suddenly the two of them were kissing deeply and passionately.

"I think Jessie has finally realised James is a man," Ash said with a grin.

"I think James has realised that too," Misty said with a slight smile. Then she turned to Ash to claim a kiss of her own. Why should Jessie have all the fun?

***

"How are you doing Bayleef?" Ash asked as he entered the Pokémon Medical Centre. "Are you feeling…" And that was as far as he got. Bayleef jumped on him and rubbed her head against his face frantically, shouting his name over and over again. When she was a Chikorita it was cute, but now she was the size of a large dog and it was now a serious hazard to health.

The head medic grinned. "Good thing you got here, sir. She couldn't wait to see you." Ash could tell.

"Easy, Bayleef," he said. "We're glad to see you."

[Speak for yourself,] Raichu said with a grin.

[Shut up, jealous,] Bayleef shot back.

[I'M jealous?] Raichu said in disbelief. [Which one of us has been with Ash through four years of hell?]

[Which one of us pulled his fat out of the fire today?] Bayleef replied angrily.

"Okay, stop it _right now!_" Ash shouted. Both Pokémon shut up and looked at him sheepishly. "You have both evolved and it is time you grew up," Ash said firmly. "You, and Firestorm, are my best Pokémon by far. I value you _equally_, okay? You have your strengths and weaknesses that make you perfect for different things, and I do _not_ like one of you 'more' than the other. Raichu has been with me longer, Bayleef, so you are going to have to accept that I am closer to him than I am to you. Raichu, you are going to have to accept that Bayleef likes me a _lot_ and wants to spend time with me whenever she can. You can both learn to accept this, or you can stay in your Pokéballs while the other is out. Okay?" The two Pokémon looked at the floor in such comical penitence that Ash had to work hard not to laugh.

[Okay.] Raichu.

[Okay.] Bayleef.

Ash sighed and shook his head. "For this I gave up school," he said. "Now I want you to shake hands and promise to be the best of friends from now on."

Bayleef reached out with a vine whip and Raichu took it in his paw. They shook and made up, as their Trainer instructed. "Okay, Bayleef… would you like a nickname?" Ash asked on a sudden whim. "I think it might be appropriate."

[Like what?]

"Aimé," Ash said. "It sounds like the French for 'love.' I think it fits you well."

[Yes… yes, I want that name,] Aimé said. She stepped forward and rubbed Ash's head affectionately. [Hey, Sparks! Ash has given me a _name_.]

[Yeah, he doesn't give me one because _everyone_ knows who I am, even without it. I'm _unique_.]

[Yeah, uniquely useless,] Aimé giggled.

[Useless?] Raichu's hackles raised when he heard that. [Which of us has been in the most Gym Battles, Leaf-head?]

__

That didn't last long, Ash thought in disbelief. "Let it drop, you two," Ash said firmly before Aimé could retort.

***

Ash's next port of call was the Medical Ward. His mother was sitting on a bed while a nurse finished anointing with restorative creams the cuts and bruises on her body from the rough treatment she had endured. "There," the nurse said in a sunny tone of voice. "All done."

Ash thought his mother looked a bit uncomfortable. He couldn't blame her, surrounded by all these uniforms after the nightmare she must have experienced in that torture facility Professor Oak dumped her in. "How are you doing, Mom?" Ash asked kindly.

"I'm… a lot better, thank you darling," she said, managing a slight smile.

The nurse handed Ash a clipboard and he read the notes quickly. Mostly bumps, scrapes and bruises on the surface. Hmm… some indications of repeated neurological trauma. Given what his mother had told him about that monstrous device Oak had built to try and… _re-program_ her, that wasn't surprising. However, all the psychological tests indicated that her mind was still whole and still hers. "So, are you ready to get moving?" he asked. Delilah nodded.

Ash and his mother walked down the corridor to the Critical Care ward. "Now, I want you to go easy with Tracey," Ash instructed her. "He is still very sick after what those beasts did to him." Delilah nodded again. Now was the time. Ash wished he could find a better way to handle this, but she deserved the truth. "Mom… you should know that Tracey was _very_ badly hurt."

Delilah stopped and looked at him in concern. "How badly, Ash?" she asked gently.

"He…" Ash swallowed dryly. "His back was broken, Mom. The doctors will do their best, but it looks like he may never walk again."

Delilah gasped and closed her eyes, trembling all over. A single tear ran down her cheeks and she was still for a moment. Then she opened her eyes and looked at Ash levelly. He saw that familiar determination in her eyes, and he was _certain_ that his Mom was going to be all right. "I understand Ash. If they need my help, they only have to ask."

Ash smiled gently and led her in to Tracey's room, where Misty was talking to him, trying to reassure him. Togetic was hovering nearby, chirping good-naturedly. "Brought you a visitor, Trace," Ash said with a broad grin.

Delilah walked in and there was a frozen moment as the two of them stared at each other. "Delilah… you're alive! Oh, thank God!" Tracey was grinning like a mad chimpanzee and he reached out for her.

Delilah suddenly crossed the room and engulfed Tracey in her arms. "Tracey… Oh God, Tracey my love, I thought I'd lost you…"

"Shh, shh…" Tracey stroked Delilah's hair gently. "It's all right, Delilah, I'm here…"

Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Here was the proof, if proof was needed, that something very special had happened between these two in the last four years. After a shocked moment, Misty walked up to him and gestured for them to leave. The two Rockets sneaked out, leaving the lovers to their reunion.

Outside, Misty turned to him. "Are we heading off?"

"Yeah," Ash said. "We've got to be back at Seashell in twelve hours or the Boss will start deducting pay for absence from our posts." Misty giggled slightly when she heard that. "Anyway, I _want_ to get back."

"You do?" Misty's green eyes were innocent and questioning. Ash treasured that unconquerable innocence. Sometimes, it helped him retain his humanity.

"Yes, Misty," Ash said. "I think, at last, I am beginning to understand what is going on. Everything Sabrina has told me, and everything Professor Oak told my Mom… It is all coming together now. I think I see the pattern at last. We're heading back to the base, and we are going to start doing some real damage." Misty frowned in concern as she watched her lover's face darken. "Professor Oak started this war," Ash said, "and, as God is my witness, I am going to _end it_."

__

To be continued…

****

Next time on Team Rocket Neo…

  * The secret of Ash and Jessie's parentage revealed!

  * The origins of Team Rocket explained!

  * Why is the UN so afraid of the Pokémon?

  * And what is the great Cause, the working out of which Ash and Misty are so important?

All this and more in the next instalment of Team Rocket Neo: Part 5 – The Clan of the Rocket…

   [1]: mailto:BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk



	5. The Clan of the Rocket

Team Rocket Neo ****

Team Rocket Neo

A Pokémon nightmare by [BenRG][1]

****

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all technologies of the Pokémon universe are the legal property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Productions. No violation of any legal property intended. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet.

****

Author's Notes

Shades of grey alert. There are no heroes in this story, only those who are slightly less bad than others. Sometimes the price of survival is a lot higher than people expect.

I want to thank Bunny, a fellow FanFiction.NET author; whose story 'Dear Jessie' convinced me that the Madonna song was a perfect one for Miyamoto to sing to Jessie. I don't know who originally wrote the song, but whoever it is, please don't sue either of us! We aren't making any money out of this!

I must apologise in advance for all the long bits of exposition in this fic. I couldn't come up with any other way to get in the needed explanations.

Text in [Squared Brackets] is translated Pokémon talk.

Text in _Italics_, but not in quotes is thought or telepathic communication.

Text in "_Quotes and Italics_" is a voice filtered by coming from a loudspeaker of some kind.

****

Censor: R for violence and swearing

Ages: Ash is 19; Misty is 19; Rocketboy is 18; Naomi is 14; Buddy is 28; Holly is 25; Jessie is 26; James is 26; Giovanni is 41; Tracey is 23, Delilah is 40

****

Part 5 – The Clan of the Rocket

__

Chapter 1 – The Great Betrayal

It was midnight in Cerulean City. Nurse Joy Raith was finishing clearing up her work area in the reception atrium of the Pokémon Centre. It had been another long day, filled with the usual thankless work that all of her kind seemed condemned to endure. 

There had been the legions of bratty and unthankful young Novices handing over their battered Pokémon to her for healing so that, later, they could make them fight again, and get injured again. There had been the inevitable scorn from Officer Jenny, who felt that being in a Combat/Enforcement role made her somehow Joy's superior in the scheme of things. Joy always had to restrain herself from pointing out that foot soldiers were ten to a cent while decent medics were treasured and protected. 

Joy would give her right arm to find a decent job, maybe working in a Research Centre instead. However, the League knew best and they had placed her here when her predecessor reached the end of her pre-set four-year term of employment.

Joy was looking forward to a nice, revitalising herbal tea and maybe as much as five hours sleep before having to open the shutters tomorrow for another painful day. Then she heard a noise. Something was moving about inside the Treatment Ward. But that was impossible! The Treatment Ward was the most secure part of the Pokémon Centre! 

Joy rushed over to the empty security office and, to her horror, saw that static filled all the monitors. Realising that the Centre was under attack and understanding her duty, she lunged forward and pressed the panic alarm. Nothing happened. She pressed the button again. Still nothing. Whoever had broken in had knocked out the entire security system.

Not knowing why, or even knowing what she expected to do, Joy rushed to the Treatment Ward and flung open the door. Perhaps she hoped to stop the unknown intruders. However, she didn't get the chance. As soon as she flung open the door, someone clapped the muzzle of a Beretta P92 semi-automatic pistol to the side of her head.

"Hi there," Charles 'Rocketboy' Reilly said in a friendly tone of voice as he lent against the doorframe. "Do you want to join the party?"

***

Joy squatted in the centre of the room and stared around at the four Team Rocket agents resentfully. She tested the strength of her bonds again and decided that if she wanted to get out of the handcuffs, she would have to be willing to lose a hand.

The obvious leader of the intruders was a tall, muscular black haired man. At his side stood a slightly shorter beautiful ginger haired woman with the physique of an athlete. Both of them wore heavily modified white uniforms. As well as the man with sandy-coloured hair who had captured her, there was also an elfin 14-year old girl with long blonde hair, this latter pair wearing black uniforms of a more standardised type.

"Now just sit tight, Nurse Joy," the black haired man said. "We'll finish up here and you can go about your duties."

Joy scowled up at the man and recognised him at once. Ash Ketchum was one of the most wanted men in Kanto. According to Jenny, he had a rap sheet that read more like a summary list of all felonies that carried a capital sentence. He was wanted for questioning for crimes ranging from Petty Theft and Affray all the way up to Murder One and Treason. That meant the woman had to be Misty Waterflower, Ketchum's partner-in-crime and the person wanted for the kidnap of Pokémon Master's sisters-in-law. She had a reputation of being a kind of wild cross between a pirate and a gunslinger.

Despite being all-too-aware of her precarious situation, Joy managed to find a core of defiance to wave in the infamous terrorist's face. "I don't know what you want, filth," she snapped, "but you won't get it from _me_."

Ketchum actually laughed. "Actually, Joy, we weren't even expecting you to be present at this hour. Don't worry, we'll do well enough without you."

"Still… she might be useful in explaining how some of this stuff works," Waterflower commented with a slight grin, quirking her eyebrow at her commander suggestively. 

Ketchum looked at Joy thoughtfully "You know, you might have a point there, Misty," he said. Joy closed her mouth and pursed her lips together tightly. "How disgustingly predictable," the terrorist continued with a scornful laugh. He shook his head in disgust. "We don't have time for this," he said. "Rocketboy, Naomi, bring the good Nurse with us. Don't let her out of your sight for a second."

"Right, Ash," Rocketboy said.

"You'll never get away with this," Joy warned. "The security system is linked to the local Security Police station! They'll know something has gone wrong when they can't use our cameras for their checks!"

"Actually, they will see an empty and secure Pokémon Centre," Ketchum replied with an infuriating grin. "You'd be surprised what you can do with some portable DVD players and a little electronic know-how!"

Joy winced inside. She had been a fool for even hoping that Jenny and her cousins would come to her rescue. Ketchum and his crew were no amateurs. If she were going to stop them, she would have to do it herself…

***

Ash led the strange cavalcade into the heart of the Treatment Ward. He heard Joy hiss in anger when she saw Holly and Buddy picking over some items of state-of-the-art Pokémon medical equipment, trying to figure out what made this equipment so different from the older off-the-shelf equipment used by Team Rocket.

Ash and Misty had been busy these last six months. In between their duties as Team Rocket field agents, they had patiently tracked down every clue on which they could lay their hands. They had sucked every informant dry and had gone over the information they had stolen from the Cascade Gym and the research centre outside Vermilion City owned by Professor Oak until they were muttering bits of it in their sleep. They had tracked shipments of poisonous chemicals from dozens of different factories and confirmed that the published specifications for much of the equipment used in Treatment Wards bore little or no resemblance to the real equipment. 

Along the way, and seemingly laid on to persuade them that they were on the right track, they had encountered more agents of the Project, the mysterious conspiracy which was seemingly behind _everything_. Ash and Misty had fought many violent battles in defence of themselves and their friends. They had been forced to fight their way out of many tight corners. They had killed… 

Now, they had all the pieces in their hands. It seemed that everything that most people assumed were facts of life in Kanto were nothing more than an elaborate shadow play, covering over a terrible truth. It was a truth linked with the League and the UN council governing the islands. It was a truth that, possibly, affected the life of every Pokémon Trainer in Indigo, Orange and Johto. It was logical to assume that most of the answers would be found at the most visible manifestation of the League's power, the Pokémon Centre Network. At last, Ash and Misty were ready to see how all the pieces fitted together.

"Well?" Ash asked Holly and Buddy. He had learnt over the last year that the medic and the technician preferred professional treatment to the closer family-like bond he tried to establish with Rocketboy and Naomi.

Holly turned around. "I don't like it, sir," she said at last. "There is something wrong about all of this stuff. The chemicals in the treatment equipment and the rejuvenator machines just aren't _right_ for medical equipment."

"What do you mean, not 'right?'" Ash asked. "I need details, and I would prefer it in English, Holly."

The blonde medic laughed slightly. "Okay, in layman's terms, some of these supposedly 'medicinal' chemicals are toxins." She saw the shocked looks on the four field agents' faces. "That might not be significant," she continued. "Remember toxins can be beneficial in small doses. The drugs used in Chemotherapy are all pretty toxic in quantity, and Crack is a different product from the same raw material used to manufacture the local anaesthetic Novocain."

Ash nodded thoughtfully. He turned to Joy. "How about it, Joy?" he asked. "Do you want to explain to my medic the application of these chemicals?"

Joy sneered and looked away from Ash. Ash didn't blink, and his expression didn't alter a micron, but he lunged forward and drove a pile-driver punch into Joy's guts. The woman gasped, folded double and fell to her knees. Misty gasped and jumped back. Even Rocketboy seemed surprised. Joy barely avoided being sick as Ash grabbed her by her long red hair and lifted her head to look into her eyes. 

"Joy, you are being very brave," he said. "Unfortunately, it isn't doing you any good. I don't want to hurt you, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get this information. Now, _answer my medic's questions!_"

Holly shot her team leader a nervous glance, then stepped forward. "I know that Triethylmetabromide is a toxin that affects the Pituitary Gland," she said. "Why do you use it here?"

Joy thought about continued resistance, but decided that there was no reason not to answer this question. "Because it inhibits the growth and biological development in Pokémon," she said. "A small application is made every time we give a Pokémon their booster shots. It approximately halves their rate of growth."

"It does _what?_" Misty said. She sounded appalled. "Do you mean to tell me that every time we handed our Pokémon over for healing, you were _poisoning _them?"

Joy sneered at the terrorist woman's naivete. "No, you idiot," she replied. "We slow and restrict their growth rates. The levels of toxins used are not poisonous, they just inhibit their normal development rates."

There was a shocked silence. Suddenly it was broken, and not by a human voice. [You… _torturer!_] Raichu hissed, leaping up from behind a bit of equipment onto a storage shelf. [You will pay for this…!]

"Ease down, Raichu," Ash ordered, waving at him to stop him from attacking. There was a long pause before Buddy spoke.

"The Rejuvenator has some weird equipment too, Boss," he said. "Radiation generators and sonic guns as well as the medical stuff Holly could identify.

Ash shot Joy a look, an eyebrow quirked questioningly. Joy sighed. "They perform the same function as the chemicals," she said in a scornful tone of voice. "They inhibit growth and induce muscle wastage and bone decalcification. Nothing enough to cause health complications, but enough to stunt the subject's growth."

"I need a minute here," Ash said, shaking his head in amazement. "You are telling us that the League has been systematically poisoning and stunting the growth of every Pokémon brought to the Centres? How long has this been going on?"

Joy blinked at Ash in incomprehension. "The League's medical procedures haven't changed since the Pokémon Centres were first opened back in 2020," she said.

Ash nearly fell over. Misty looked like she was going to be sick. Rocketboy looked at Naomi in horror, and the girl tightened her grip on Joy's shoulders slightly, making the woman wince in discomfort. Raichu leapt to his Trainer's shoulders and begun to rub his face encouragingly. After a moment, Ash could speak again. "Why?" he asked. "Why is the League committing these crimes?"

"The League holds the best interests of all Trainers and their Pokémon as paramount," Joy said primly. "The Commission decided at the outset that it would be risking the safety of both League Trainers and their Pokémon if they were allowed to grow at their natural fast rate."

"What?" Misty blurted.

"In their natural state," Joy explained in a tone that made it sound like she was reciting a written policy document, "Pokémon move up the growth and experience level tables very rapidly when they are properly trained. For instance, a Pichu will evolve into a Pikachu after about three months of structured training, and will evolve into a Raichu about ten months after that, assuming that its' training does not become more lax. By using toxins that inhibit synaptic development and growth and others that make Pokémon wilful, disobedient and difficult to train, we slow that process to approximately an eighth of its' normal rate. If they are not in the hands of an exceptional Trainer, you could expect a Pikachu not to evolve into a Raichu for as much as six years after it evolved from a Pichu."

"That is barbarity!" Holly sounded shocked and disgusted. "You're a healer! It is your job to keep these creatures in the best of health, not restrict them to a level of health that the League has _arbitrarily_ decided is _safe!_"

Joy rolled her eyes. "Try to use your heads instead of your emotions," she said disdainfully. "Imagine if the League didn't do this. It would mean that you would have 12-year-old Trainers running around with _evolved _Charizards, Blastoises, Venusaurs, Dragonites, Alakazams, Golems, Gengars, Raichus, Typhlosions, Meganiums and Feragatyrs. Imagine a continent full of pre-pubescent kids carrying around enough firepower to demolish entire cities unaided. They would be repeated massacres waiting to happen, if their Pokémon didn't get strong enough to kill them before they started murdering people who pissed them off!"

Ash filtered out Joy's words as he thought fiercely about this. In truth, this hadn't come as a surprise, but it was still horrifying to hear it explained so explicitly. 

"I think that the Trainers involved wouldn't thank you if they knew," Misty was saying sarcastically.

"That is why we don't tell them," Joy said with a smug smile. "The League holds the best interests of all Trainers and their Pokémon as paramount."

Rocketboy sneered when he heard that. "Somehow, I question your motives," he said with a nasty laugh.

"Yeah," Naomi added, "I bet that there is a little more involved than protecting us poor innocent defenceless Trainers from the harsh world of Level-3 evolutions!"

"Too right," Misty said in a biting tone, driving in the nails with every word. "In fact, I bet this is all about 'control.'" She stepped forward and got in Joy's face. "You're nothing but a cog in the machine that keeps Trainers under heel, isn't that it?"

"Oh no!" Joy sounded angry and offended. "That isn't so! Don't you understand that not doing this is _dangerous_? We have to protect these children from themselves or there could be chaos!"

"I think you are underestimating the level of discipline it takes to be a successful Pokémon Trainer," Ash said dismissively, then paused and shot Joy a thoughtful, assessing look. "But that is the real problem isn't it? A country full of disciplined and skilled Trainers leading powerful groups of evolved Pokémon… I bet that's the League's nightmare scenario, isn't it?"

"It ought to be yours too," Joy snapped. "These children are neither ready nor able to handle that sort of power!"

"That isn't the League's decision to make," Misty said scornfully. "It is up to a Trainer to decide how far and how fast his or her Pokémon develop."

"The League disagrees," Joy replied with commendable calm. "The League holds the best interests of all Trainers and their Pokémon as paramount."

"Jesus, it's like listening to a tape loop," Holly snapped. "Has it ever occurred to you to think about what you are doing and make a moral decision about it?" Joy shot the blonde woman a look of profound incomprehension. "I didn't think so," Holly sneered. "This is what I hate about these clones," she told Ash. "They are so psychologically _perfect_ that they are like programmed automata in flesh and blood form. They'll commit atrocities in the serene certainty that if their owners have decided to do it, it _must _be right!"

"Maybe we are obedient and efficient," Joy shouted, offended, "but I'd prefer that to being a random collection of genes knocked together by two animals _rutting_!"

"Oh shut up," Ash said dismissively. 

Naomi took a moment to move closer to Holly and Buddy, her face pale and reflecting astonishment. "She's a _clone_?" Naomi asked in horror.

"Why do you think all the Joys and Jennies are completely identical?" Buddy asked with a laugh. "The UNGC clones most of its' workforce because the eventual costs are so much less. You only have to pay the tiniest living allowance, and there are no wages, no health benefits, no holidays and _no pension_. You don't pension off a Replicant that can't work anymore, you just _retire _them." There was an ugly emphasis on the word 'retire' that made its' meaning all-too-clear. 

Naomi swallowed and felt a bit ill. She looked at Joy in a kind of horror. Joy scowled at the girl's expression. "Oh get over it, you pitiful child," she snapped. "I, for one, prefer being a clone and knowing my place in the scheme of things to being a _natural_ and having to fret about the meaning of life! I _know_ the meaning of _my_ life!" 

Ash was pulling at his bottom lip thoughtfully. "You know, this all makes sense," he finally said. "I had Pikachu for what… four years? In that time, he told me that he didn't want to evolve, and his experience level stayed low enough that he could avoid it. Within a year of our joining Team Rocket and stopping using official Pokémon medical care, his experience level shot up. He was forced to evolve within nine months and Raichu's experience level is something like 150 now."

Misty nodded. "It was the same with Togepi," she recalled. "I didn't think he'd _ever_ learn any attacks, but he was ready to fight by the time we finished basic training and he evolved into a Togetic in just two years."

"Exactly," Joy said brightly. "You see how dangerous that is? Do you understand why this is necessary?"

"No I don't," Ash said firmly. "And I'll bet the vast majority of Trainers won't either. Which is why Team Rocket is going to tell them." He walked over to one of their duffel bags of equipment and pulled out a digital video camera. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," he announced. "Holly, I want you to do a guided tour of this little torture chamber and Joy is going to tell all the happy viewers what each piece of equipment is _supposed _to do, and what it _really_ does."

"Forget it," Joy snapped. "I won't betray the League to help you cause dissent among Trainers! The League holds the best interests…"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard it before," Ash said. "Change the disk already, Joy."

"Maybe you'd prefer it if I was silent," Joy sneered. Then she screamed as Raichu, entirely of his own volition, fired a full-power Thunder-shock attack into her. Joy screamed and writhed for at least thirty seconds before Raichu stopped attacking her.

[I owe you and your unnatural kind this and more,] the electric-type told the cloned woman as she lay weeping in agony in a pool of her own urine. [You _will_ co-operate with my Trainer or you will learn that _I_ do not regard what you have done to my kind as being 'in our best interests!']

Ash was shocked. He had never heard such hate and violence in his Pokémon's voice before. "I think Raichu has said everything that needs to be said," he said gently. "Does he have to say it again?"

Joy looked up, tears streaming down her face, past several large electrical burns. "No… no more," she said gently. "I'll… do it."

***

So, with Buddy running the camera, they proceeded to go through every machine in the Treatment Ward. Holly would give a brief layman's explanation of the purpose of the machine and components before a subdued Joy explained, frequently in nightmarish detail, what it _really _did. Ash had to restrain himself from being sick more than once. Some of the things the League routinely did to Pokémon to restrict them to 'safe' experience and evolutionary levels were like the horrors he read about in books about the holocaust in Nazi Germany.

Finally, they were finished. Joy, still under gunpoint, backed towards her desk in the Treatment Centre. 

"Ash… I…" Holly said worriedly.

"What is it Holly?" he asked.

"Sir, I know you don't like stealing owned Pokémon, but I want to take all the Pokémon from the Treatment Ward back to our base." Ash was about to protest when Holly continued. "Please Ash, all my life I've trained as a healer. I live to help people and Pokémon, and I don't think I could stand it if I left these poor creatures behind to be stunted by this sadist and her torture machines."

Misty smiled and stepped forward, touching Ash's arm in reassurance. Ash jumped slightly, but when he looked into his lover's eyes, he relaxed. "You know she's right, Ash," Misty said. "It is in their best interests that we do this. We'll get them healthy again and they can live a life where they won't be routinely poisoned when they should be being healed."

Ash considered that for a moment. He looked at Holly's genuinely desperate expression and finally nodded. "Okay, put them in their balls. Buddy, help Holly take these Pokémon to the APC."

"NO!" Joy shouted. "I won't let you steal these Pokémon!" She stepped forward and froze when Rocketboy and Naomi centred their guns on her chest. 

"Give me an excuse you bit of filth," Naomi hissed. Her Beedrill buzzed his support, his foreleg drills whirling. Joy swallowed and backed off. She made sure she kept her hands in sight at all times.

Ash, Misty, Buddy and Holly removed the Pokémon from the falsely named 'healing' machines. Then they removed the unhatched eggs from the incubators, packing them in padded cases before taking them to the APC. 

When he returned, Ash pulled out a Pokéball and released his recently captured Graveler and Hitmonlee. 

Graveler was the proof of the detrimental effect of the League's 'health care.' Brock's Geodude didn't evolve in the twelve years Brock owned him. Ash's Geodude evolved into a Graveler in just five months. "All right, Stoney and Quick-kick," Ash said, "let's turn this chamber of horrors into a scrap metal yard."

[You bet, Ash!] Stoney the Graveler shouted. He smashed his rocky arms into a machine that claimed to be an incubator (but actually injected toxins into Pokémon eggs to make the resulting Pokémon stupid and difficult to train). The million-dollar piece of equipment collapsed in on itself and Stoney started to stamp on it, reducing it to scrap. Simultaneously, Quick-kick the Hitmonlee swept several jars of toxins off the shelves with one sweeping roundhouse kick. The bottles smashed into a corner and began to smoulder dangerously as they mixed.

Misty released Madcoil, her Gyarados, and the huge water snake began to shred the steel shells of yet more machinery like it was wet paper.

"No! Stop!" Joy shouted uselessly as the demolition continued. "Haven't you listened to _anything_ I have said? This is _good_! It is _necessary_! _The League holds the best interests of all Trainers and their Pokémon as paramount_!" None of the Team Rocket agents or Pokémon were particularly interested in what she had to say.

Joy suddenly noticed that Rocketboy and Naomi weren't watching her closely any more. They were enjoying watching the destruction too much. Joy felt a sliver of hope. She might not be a Combat/Enforcement model like a certain policewoman she knew, but she _could_ fight when the best interests of Trainers and their Pokémon were threatened. She slowly slid open the bottom drawer of her desk and gently pulled her Walther PPK pistol out of its' hidden holster. Previously, she had only used this to 'kill' beer bottles on a wall at the back of the centre. Well, she would get in more practice now.

Ash was looking around at the destruction with a grim satisfaction. He wasn't a fool. The League would replace all this stuff in a day, but at least this was one batch of treatment equipment that would not take part in this betrayal of innocent hopes and dreams any longer. He recalled Stoney and Quick-kick to their Pokéballs. "Okay, people," he said. "Let's get going." He turned to look at Joy, who was flushed with anger. Something about her posture made his danger sense mutter a warning, but he couldn't decide what the problem was. "And Joy, learn from this," he said. "You might be a clone, but you are still a thinking being. Think very carefully about what you are doing and _why_. Start making moral decisions. It is what separates intelligent life-forms from robots."

Joy sneered at Ash's advice. "You really don't understand us, do you, Mr. Ketchum?" she asked. "We think more than you realise. I, for instance, have made a moral decision right now." At that, Nurse Joy Raith (Nexus 6; Medical/Support Batch 12; Unit 0445. Incept Date 23 June 2077) raised her PPK and fired at Rocketboy, who was standing less than five feet in front of her.

"Rocketboy, watch _out!_" Naomi screamed. She shoulder-charged him and knocked him aside. Unfortunately, it moved her right into the line of fire and the 9mm bullet slammed into her left arm, splashing out a fountain of blood. Naomi screamed again and tumbled to the ground.

Joy was already aiming at another target when three 9mm rounds from Ash's Auto-Nine automatic pistol punched through her chest and slammed her against the explosion of her own arterial blood that suddenly decorated the back wall like a grotesque mural. Joy had just enough time to be amazed at the speed of the man's reactions before she fell into the infinite darkness.

Ash watched as the cloned woman's corpse slumped down to the base of the wall, a look of dumbfounded surprise on her face. As Misty and Rocketboy rushed to help the fallen Naomi, Ash could only stare helplessly at the dead thing he had just put on the ground. The report would read: 'Routine discharge of a firearm in self-defence.' That didn't make him feel any better about gunning down a woman, a_ nurse_, with an automatic weapon.

Ash holstered his Auto-Nine, shook himself all over and ran over to help Naomi. 

"I… I'm sorry I was so slow Naomi," Rocketboy was babbling. "This is my fault, Ash. I'll take the rap from the Boss…"

"Will you stop being so damn _noble_?" Naomi snapped, in tears from the pain. "She took us by surprise! This isn't a fatal wound and I'll get over it! You should too!"

Misty grinned. "Watch it, you two," she said. "This is how Ash and I started off!" Rocketboy and Naomi blushed brightly. Ash grinned and patted Misty on the shoulder, congratulating her on distracting them from their reaction to the violent moment.

As they turned to leave the Cerulean City Pokémon Centre, Ash turned to look at the fallen Nurse Joy one last time. [If it is any consolation,] Raichu said coldly, [you have punished a pitiless torturer who has tormented Mew knows how many Pokémon over the years.]

"I just wish there had been another way," Ash replied helplessly.

Raichu jumped up onto his back and began to rub his head with his cheeks. [She fired first, Ash,] Raichu reminded him. [It is difficult, but you must remember that no one wants you to die uselessly, except the evil ones.]

Ash nodded reluctantly. He stroked Raichu's head once and walked out of the room, leaving it to the dead.

***

"_Well, Ash,_" Giovanni snapped from the communications screen, "_another renegade operation completed by Team White November_. _And, once again, I cannot discipline you because the results are simply too positive for me to sustain any charges._" Giovanni sighed and shook his head. "_You are going to be the cause of a lot of trouble, Mr. Ketchum_," he announced. "_I have no doubt in my mind that you will either end up as the leader of Team Rocket… or a mouldering corpse in a gutter somewhere_."

Ash grinned unrepentantly. He never made any secret of the fact he was a member of Team Rocket for _his_ reasons. Besides, he and Misty had done enough for the Team to earn a little leeway with the Boss. "Have you had a chance to look at my full report?" Ash asked.

"_Yes,_" Giovanni confirmed. "_It makes for… disturbing reading. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it is the most explosive document I have ever read. If used properly, the evidence you have amassed would certainly bring the League down in flames and will probably lead to the overthrow of the UNGC._" Ash smiled. That was his conclusion too. He had that goal in mind when he wrote the report. "_Of course, I will not use it… not yet anyway,_" Giovanni announced. "_The time for such an exposure hasn't come yet…_"

Ash was thunderstruck. "But sir," he protested. "Lives are being ruined _right now_ by this conspiracy! We _must_…"

"_You are NOT a policy maker, Mr. Ketchum,_" Giovanni shouted, making Ash wince. The Boss only ever shouted like that when he was _very _angry. "_I and I alone will decide when and _if_ we use this information!_"

Ash drew in a deep breath and grasped Misty's hand for support out of camera shot. "I'm sorry Boss," he was able to say after a long moment. "I guess that I'm still shaken up after finding out about this."

Giovanni waved his hand to indicate that he felt an apology was unnecessary. "_Well, you will be relieved to learn that you will not have to suffer this stress again any time in the near future_," he announced. "_Your team is being rotated back to headquarters at the end of this week, and all the individual agents are to be reassigned._"

There was a horrified pause in the communications room and Misty's grip on Ash's hand became positively painful. "Sir… if the Council has any problems with how my team are acquitting their duties," Ash began.

Giovanni gave Ash and Misty his Basilisk Stare and enjoyed watching them squirm. "_You do not need to know the decisions and thoughts of the Inner Council_," Giovanni declared imperiously. "_As I say, you have been recalled for reassignment. You do not _need_ to know anything else._" Giovanni thrust out an aggressive finger at Ash. "_After the number of times you have either violated or 'creatively re-interpreted' my orders, you should be thankful you are not returning here in _chains_! Headquarters out._" The screen blinked off.

"Oh…" Misty said. She looked at Ash in worry. "Do you think we may have pushed him too far?" she asked, worry filling her expression.

Ash frowned. "I don't care," he said. "This has gone beyond him now, Mist. We'll see what he has to say but…" Misty nodded in comprehension. There were dark activities in Kanto that needed exposure and overthrow. If they couldn't do it in Team Rocket… well, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

***

It was what Ash was certain would be their last night ever at Seashell Base. He and Misty lay in their bed in Ash's private dorm room. The week had gone quietly after Giovanni's explosive recall order. Everyone was busy in tidying up the base for its' next occupants, and at least one person was with the recuperating Naomi at all times, trying to keep the girl cheerful despite her painful injury.

All throughout, Ash had remained thoughtful, quiet and introspective, something that worried Misty a lot. That night, Ash's reactions to her first moves had been purely reflexive, although she had succeeded in getting his entire attention very quickly. Now, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, the two young people lay together on Ash's bed, looking at the ceiling. Ash, Misty noted, had retreated into his thoughts again.

"I'll give you a dollar for your thoughts," Misty said.

Ash turned to look at Misty and grinned. "Boy, inflation must be high, it's usually only a penny!"

Misty giggled. "No, its' just that you've been thinking so much, there must be a lot of them to give. Bigger package, higher price."

Ash laughed. "I have been thinking a lot," he admitted. "I guess I'm wondering about the future… and what might happen to me."

"Ash…" Misty said, hugging herself closer to his side, "you don't think the Boss will try to separate us, do you?"

Ash shook his head. "I wasn't worrying about that," he said. "We've already been through this, Misty. We stay together; if Giovanni tries to interfere in that, I will make him regret it." He turned in the semi-gloom and looked Misty in the eye. "No, I'm worried that Giovanni will try to sit on what the Project is doing. I can't let him do that. I _won't_."

Misty nodded. "And I admire you for wanting to expose this, Ash," she said quietly. "But you can't help anyone if you get him so mad at you that he has you killed." Misty paused. "And I wouldn't be able to live very long if that happens anyway."

"I'm not planning on dying any time soon," Ash said, stroking Misty's hair in an attempt to reassure her. "I've got to think of a way to persuade him that this is important."

"So," Misty said with a slight smile, "all this was just you thinking out a strategy, hmm?"

There was a long pause, which made Misty nervous. "No," Ash finally admitted. "I… uh… God this hurts. I can't visualise the look on Nurse Joy's face when I shot her." Ash swallowed and Misty shivered, and not from cold. "I was thinking how that was odd, and then it just suddenly hit me that I stopped counting all the people I've killed. I can still _see _Brock's smiling as I shot him, you know."

"Ash, don't," Misty pleaded, seeing Duplicia's hate-twisted face looming before her in the last moment before Misty blew her head off.

Ash continued as if he couldn't hear her. "I have nightmares, memories really, about that day. I can still _smell_ the burning flesh from when I used Flame's flame-thrower attack at that prison where they were holding my Mom… I can perfectly recall every PK guard I shot that day too." Ash frowned to himself and then shook his head. "After that, I forget. I must have killed dozens of guards and agents of the Project over the last six months… but I can't remember any of them."

Misty found that her face was wet with tears. "You know this is a war," she managed to choke out. "In war… you have to kill to stay alive."

"I know," Ash said in a desolate, toneless voice, staring out into nothingness. "But it is getting too easy, Misty. I… I am afraid I'm turning into some kind of cold killer like Domino, Butch or Cassidy."

Misty suddenly hugged Ash tightly to her. "No," she snarled. "No, you won't ever fall that far, Ash. You are too kind and you love _life_ too much for that to happen." She sucked in a deep breath. "I saw how horrified you were when you shot Joy. As long as you keep that horror at every life wasted, you won't ever become a monster."

Ash sucked in a deep breath with just a hint of a sob. He looked Misty in the eye. "Have I told you lately that I love you?" he asked. "You are the thing that has kept me close to sane in all this mess."

Misty blushed and looked down. "You are the only thing that gives my live meaning," she said at last. "I love you more than my _own_ life."

There was a long quiet moment in the bedroom before Ash smiled. "Then let us share our love again," Ash announced. "And this time, I'll concentrate fully on the task!"

**__**

Chapter 2 –Changes and Decisions

Next morning, after they handed over the base to the new team under a pair of White Rockets named Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barlow, Team White November left in their blimp for Headquarters. 

Ash felt strange leaving the base that had been his home for seven months, and had seen the change in his life from just survival to fighting a terrible war against an evil he was only just beginning to understand. He had no idea what might lie ahead for him and Misty at Headquarters, but he was certain of one thing. Ash knew that his path was mapped out. He would fight the Project at every turn. The only thing that would be decided at Headquarters would be if he did so under the banner of Team Rocket

Ash was so preoccupied that he barely noticed the cliff-side hangers of the Headquarters Facility looming before the blimp. "Hey, wakey-wakey, Ash," Misty said, nudging him. "We've just been given landing permission!"

Ash nearly jumped upright in his jump chair. "Sorry," he said with a slight blush that made Misty, Rocketboy and Naomi grin. 

***

After the blimp docked in its' landing gantry, Ash, Holly, Misty, Naomi and Rocketboy picked up their duffel bags and disembarked, leaving Buddy to shut down. On the boarding gantry, Ash turned to his two juniors. "Well Rocketboy, Naomi, I guess that it is almost time."

Rocketboy nodded stiffly. After a few moments of chewing over something, the sandy-haired man stuck a hand out to Ash. "Ash," he said, "I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye on many issues… hell we were at each other's throats most of the time, but I want to say that you were right…"

"Rocketboy, there's no need for you to apologise for anything," Ash interrupted, grabbing Rocketboy's hand and shaking it firmly. "You were usually right, after all. I am sure that you will go far."

"Thanks," Rocketboy said with a slight blush and a nod. "But I wanted to say… You have _always_ lived up to the highest standards of the _spirit_ of The Cause. It has been an honour and a privilege, sir. I will remember this assignment always, because it is the time that I worked with the _very best_." Rocketboy stepped back and saluted. Ash returned the salute and the two men stood for a long moment, before Rocketboy turned and walked away into the base.

Ash turned to Naomi. "Somehow it isn't going to be the same without you around," he said. "You have been a great help and you have performed superlatively on your first assignment. I am proud to have served with you and I know that you have a great future ahead of you. What is more, you are a genuinely good person, and one I am proud to call 'friend.'"

As Ash's list of compliments grew, Naomi went brighter and brighter red and she began to fiddle with the sling holding her wounded left arm. "Th… thank you, Ash," she said quietly. "I will try to remember everything you taught me, both about Pokémon and how we should conduct ourselves in the field." She smiled in a sunny way and, with an air of daring, leaned forward to kiss Ash on the cheek, making him go red. Misty hid a grin behind her hand.

Naomi turned to Misty. "Thank you too, Misty," she said. "You helped me a lot. I… I hope we'll meet again, Big Sister."

Misty smiled warmly and hugged the girl. "Ash was right," she said. "It won't be the same without you, Baby Sister." Misty kissed the girl and hugged her again before she walked away too. Much to her frustration, Misty realised that she was crying.

Ash, with a gentle smile, wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Hey, who died?" he asked gently.

"Our little family did," Misty said. She sighed in frustration. "It always seems that, just when we're settling down with a team and developing some kind of emotional base, the Boss pulls it from underneath us." Misty scowled. "I bet he does it deliberately too, just to keep us off-balance and easier to control."

Ash smiled. "Hey," he said. "You are all the family and 'emotional base' that _I_ need." He put an arm around her shoulders and led her off into the base, with Raichu scuttling alongside him and Togetic fluttering overhead.

***

As per standard procedure, Ash and Misty reported to the Sergeant-at-Arms' office. Much to their surprise, there were no orders waiting for them to report to Giovanni, only a note that Team White November's official debriefing was scheduled to take place at 2000 hours that night in a briefing room. "That is unexpected," Ash said, feeling a bit nervous. "Why hasn't the Boss summoned us to meet him?"

Misty snorted. "He's just making us dangle," she said dismissively. "I bet he's watching us right now and laughing at how nervous he's making us!"

***

In his offices, Giovanni's eyebrows shot up when he heard Misty say this, and he made a mental note to have her tested for psi abilities as soon as possible.

***

"Well, we've got five hours to kill," Ash said, looking at his watch. "What do you want to do with your afternoon at fun-filled Headquarters? Maybe kill a few dozen shooting targets, maybe sign up for some training courses or watch the dumb movies they play on the Big-Screen TV in the recreation dome?"

Misty grinned. "How about we just book ourselves out for the afternoon and get a hotel room in Black Island City?" she asked suggestively. Ash blushed brightly. He was saved the torment of figuring out what to say in reply by what happened next.

"Hey! Ash! Baby Sis!" Ash's head snapped round just in time to see the two women, one with red hair and the other with dark hair, almost blue-grey, both in the black uniforms of Trainees run up and hug them hard.

"Lily, Violet!" Misty almost screamed. "It is great to see you! How are you doing!"

"Just great Sis!" Lily enthused. "So, are you here for our graduation next week?"

"No such luck," Misty said with a sorrowful grimace. "Ash and me are getting reassigned, so we're only on the way through. Still, we've got enough time to catch up on the gossip! What have you two been up to? How are you doing? How's Psyduck?"

"Hey, like, ask him yourself!" Violet said, drawing and triggering one of the six Pokéballs on her belt. 

Psyduck materialised in the middle of the corridor. "Psy?" […?] he said stupidly. Then he looked up and saw Misty. "Psy-yi!" [Misty!] he shouted and flung himself forward to hug her leg. He immediately began to babble continually about all the things he had done and seen in the last six months, making all three Waterflower girls burst into laughter.

Ash, slightly apart from the emotional gathering, noted two things about Psyduck. Firstly, the psychic/water-type was very proud of all the new attacks and defences he had learnt, and secondly, he sounded… _smarter_ than he did before. Of course, over the last six months Team Rocket medics had cared for him rather than official League nurses, so he was actually healthier than he had ever been before. That realisation made Ash feel depressed and angry again at Giovanni's hesitation, and that ruined the good mood of the Waterflower reunion.

"Like, are you okay, Ash?" Violet wanted to know. 

Ash tried to clear his angry frown. "Ah, just a bit nervous about reassignment," he lied smoothly, making Misty frown in concern. "Look, why don't you ladies enjoy your re-union? I want to look up a few people while I'm here anyway."

"Okay," Lily said. "Like, knock yourself out already!" Ash smiled, waved and walked off. Misty shot him a look that made it crystal clear that she would wring whatever was wrong out of him later. Then she turned back to her sisters and let them lead her off to their dormitory.

***

Therefore, Ash found himself in a high gallery looking down onto the floor of the Recreation Dome. There had to have been about fifty to a hundred Rockets on the various levels of the facility, all using various entertainment machines or games tables. Ash would normally be down there, trying to relax, but he knew that relaxation was something that he wouldn't have today. Too much was happening, and he was feeling a great frustration at being out of the front line.

Then he felt two hands wrap themselves around him and a welcome voice said: "Hello, Ash."

Ash turned around and he embraced his mother. "Mom, its' good to see you!" Delilah laughed at her son's affectionate and loving greeting. He noticed something immediately. Either she had put on a _lot _of weight or… or she was at least six months pregnant. "Holy… Mom!" he blurted, placing a gentle hand on her gravid belly. "Say it isn't so!" His voice might sound amazed and horrified, but his face reflected overwhelming joy

Delilah blushed and looked away. "Yes, Ash," she said. "In just two months, you're going to have a little sister… well, half-sister actually."

Ash hugged her again. "That's great news!" Ash stepped back and offered her a mock scowl. "Who's the father?" he asked.

"Hey, you even have to ask?" asked a voice from waist level. 

Ash turned with a grin. "I know that voice," he said. He turned to smile down at Tracey Sketchitt, who was grinning fearlessly up at him from his wheelchair. "You are in _serious_ shit, Sketchitt," he said in a mock-threatening tone. "Not content with _sleeping_ with my Mom, you've knocked her up too! This is getting pretty heavy. If I don't see a ring sometime soon, I'll have to requisition a shotgun from the armoury!"

Delilah looked a bit horrified at hearing Ash throw around idle threats. Tracey didn't mind in the slightest. He grinned, dragged Ash down and hugged his old friend hard. "It's good to see you, man," he said gently.

"Likewise buddy," Ash said. "And I'm very happy for you both."

"You mean that?" Delilah asked, hope and fear warring in her voice and posture. "You don't mind at all?"

"Well, I would have liked to have found out a little less suddenly," Ash said, "but I really am happy. So long as you let Misty and me see the little girl regularly, you two have my blessing."

"Who says I've asked her?" Tracey said with a wicked smile, making Ash and him laugh out loud.

"You'd better," Ash said putting on a mock-threatening scowl. "Come on, I know you're wild about her!"

"The feeling is mutual," Delilah said, walking behind Tracey and looping her arms around him possessively. 

Ash noticed the simple wedding band on her left ring finger and felt better than he had done for some time now. Ash grinned. "Just don't expect me to start calling you 'Dad,'" he warned Tracey, making the man laugh. There was a long pause. "So… how is the rest of it going?" Ash asked uncertainty. "The… you know…"

Tracey looked up at Delilah who shot him an intense stare of support and love. "The physiotherapy going slowly," Delilah said. "But we aren't going to give up hope, ever."

"I'm going to go walking with my little girl in the park," Tracey announced firmly. "I don't care what it takes."

Ash nodded gently. "I believe you, Tracey," he said sincerely.

***

Ash was about 500 metres below sea level in the bowels of Headquarters. He was seeking one man who had taught him a lot about engineering, and a lot about what it meant to be a man in this world too. This was a good thing, as the last person he had relied on for that latter service was Brock Slate…

"Hey, Chief!" Ash called as he walked through the building-sized Nuclear Fusion spheres and the massive cylinders of super-conducting generator rotors.

There was a thump, a bang of something dropping to the concrete floor and a venomous Gaelic curse. "What the hell?" an Irish voice snapped. Ash ran over to an open inspection hatch in the side of a transformer and saw a familiar face topped with grey-streaked red hair. 

Chief Engineer Edward Milton O'Brien was one of the oldest currently active support personnel in the base. He remembered when Madame Boss was a young woman and when the Boss and his late brother were a pair of wild, freshly graduated Black Rockets, tearing up the entire Kanto region in their enthusiasm. In recognition of his services and dedication, he was the only Orange Rocket, the only engineer who wore a deep citrus orange jump suit instead of the canary yellow that the other engineers wore.

"Sorry, Chief, am I interrupting?" Ash asked penitently as O'Brien pulled himself out of the hatch.

O'Brien looked at him with a slight smile. "Nothing that I couldn't leave till later and be glad that I had," he said. "What can I do for you Mr. Ketchum?"

Ash shrugged. There was always something about the old man's measuring gaze that made him feel like a ten-year-old again. "Well, uh, I'm on the way through between assignments and I thought I should look you up."

__

Liar, O'Brien thought. _You're at a loose end and you need advice. Well, I don't mind._ "Well, I'm here," he said aloud. He looked at the young man thoughtfully. "I barely recognised you, though. You must have grown a foot in the last year!"

Ash managed a slight grin. When he first joined Team Rocket he was still a boy, by the time he was promoted to a White Field Agent, he was 6'3", and he was now 6'5". He literally towered over the diminutive engineer. "Fortunately I don't think I'll grow much taller," he said. "I don't think they make uniforms much bigger than this."

O'Brien laughed. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked again. He knew Ash well enough to know that the boy would get to the point eventually.

"I… I guess I could use some advice," Ash admitted at last. "There is something big going down, Chief. And… and I don't think the Boss understands how important it is." O'Brien sat down on the lip of the inspection hatch and looked at Ash thoughtfully. Ash continued. "My team has uncovered a conspiracy. It is big Chief. As big as Team Rocket but a thousand times darker. What they are doing is affecting everyone in the Kanto region, but the Boss insists that we wait. But that's stupid. We should act _now!_"

O'Brien frowned. "What did the last Global Situation Review say?" he asked. Team Rocket's intelligence specialists wrote the complete briefing on the global economic, political and military situation every three months. It was considered the bible on which the Inner Council based policy and mission assignments, probably for years ahead.

Ash was startled at the question. "Hell, I don't know!" he said. "The GSR is 'eyes-only' to the Inner Council!"

"Exactly," O'Brien said. "You don't know what the Boss knows, do you son?" The old engineer shook his head. "I've known Mr. diRocketti since he was a boy of five and Madame Boss used to let him and his younger brother draw pictures in her office while she handed out assignments to field teams. Believe me, son, he _never_ does _anything_ without a reason."

Ash sighed and rubbed his face. "Look, I appreciate what you're saying," Ash said. "But there are people suffering because of this right _now_. It doesn't feel right with me to sit on my thumbs and wait for the Boss's good time to come around."

O'Brien chuckled. _The kid is exactly like his father_, he realised. "So you want to go rushing out there, bust a few bad guys' heads and make the world a better, brighter place?" he asked. Ash opened his mouth to agree, and then noted the cynicism in the old engineer's voice. That made him blush. "There is a reason why he said 'wait,' Ash," O'Brien said gently. "He has the experience, and you've got to let that temper your enthusiasm. He _is_ a good man, you know."

"I know," Ash said with a deep sigh. "I… I guess I'm just not good at waiting. Especially when there is so much at stake."

"Well, you are in good company," O'Brien said, touching Ash on the shoulder. "Look, son, why don't you head upstairs and relax? There's plenty of time to save the world, but _you've_ got to make sure you're ready when the time comes."

"I guess," Ash said reluctantly. "Thanks, Chief," he said.

O'Brien watched Ash walk away. "You really are the font of wisdom, Chief," said another voice as soon as the young man was out of earshot.

"He's ready to go off half-cocked, John," O'Brien responded. "You can't hold him back much longer. You have to tell him the truth. You have to tell Jessie too."

Giovanni nodded as he stepped out of the shadows. "I know," he said. "I will Chief. It is almost time. It is just that…" he sighed.

"It is just that you don't know how they will react," O'Brien finished for him. "I think you are worrying a bit _too_ much John. They're both so much like Joe in temperament. They'll go through a bad patch, but they will understand in time." Giovanni nodded thoughtfully and watched Ash walking away.

***

Ash stopped off at the Pokémon habitats to collect Raichu, who had been visiting with the rest of the Electric-types living at Headquarters. The electric squirrel was in a fine mood, which alleviated some of Ash's gloom. It was nearly 2000 hours, so he set off for the briefing room, worrying about what might lie ahead of him.

He found Misty standing outside of Briefing Room Eight when he arrived at 1955 hours, early for the debriefing. "So, how did your afternoon go, Ash?" she said. She seemed a bit pale and her posture was worried. More importantly, Togetic wasn't fluttering around, but was sitting on her shoulder, looking very subdued. The little psychic-type was a reliable barometer of Misty's moods. If he was upset, so was Misty. 

Ash looked at her in concern before he spoke. "Well, I got a lot to think about," he said. "I've had one or two surprises today."

"So have I," Misty said, biting her bottom lip in worry.

"What's the problem?" Ash asked in concern.

"Tell me your news first," Misty replied, a bit _too_ quickly for Ash's liking.

"Well, I'm going to have a sister," he said. Misty looked shocked. "My Mom is pregnant with Tracey's child," he explained, enjoying watching Misty's expression change from shock to amazement and then to glee. "The medics confirmed that it was a girl. And wait until you get this: Not only has Tracey _married_ my Mom, they've asked us to be the girl's godparents!"

Misty laughed in amazement. "I can't believe it," she said. "Well, that beats my news. Mine is nowhere near as good." She shook her head and sighed, looking worried again.

Ash cocked his head. He saw how upset Misty was and instinctively moved to reassure her. "What is it?"

"Lily and Violet have been telling me about these two instructors with whom they have become very close friends," Misty explained. "Their names are Butch and Cassidy. Lily has become _very_ close friends with Cassidy." Ash didn't understand at first, and then it suddenly dawned on him. Cassidy especially had a habit of picking out particularly 'interesting' trainees for her own entertainment. That is what happened to Jessie. It took all of James' kindness and nearly a decade before she got over the heartbreak she had suffered at Cassidy's hands. "Worse still," Misty continued, "it seems that Cassidy only comes as part of a double date package, so Violet has ended up going out with Butch."

"Uh… do you want me to do something?" Ash asked lamely, wanting to help Misty.

Misty sighed and shook her head. "They've got to make their own mistakes," she said. Ash hoped it wasn't a mistake. Lily and Violet were two nice women, and he would hate to see them hurt. Considering how badly what happened with Jessie had hurt Cassidy, he hoped that she would be luckier this time too.

At that moment the Briefing Room doors swung open and Ash heard Old Mondo's imperious voice call "Enter!"

***

Debriefing was, thankfully, not a painful experience at all. Mondo was complimentary about Ash and Misty's achievements and he brushed over their habit of making up their own rules and priorities. Ash took that as a good sign. Mondo had known Giovanni for decades and the two men were like extensions of each other. If Mondo was pleased with their performance, it meant that Giovanni was pleased and had asked him to discreetly pass that on to them.

Of course, that didn't explain why Giovanni wasn't conducting the debriefing himself. Ash understood from Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy's comments on the subject that Giovanni made it a habit to conduct all major mission briefings and debriefings himself. Delegating a job like this to Mondo was unheard of, and it was enough to make Ash worry and rack his brain, trying to figure out what The Boss was up to.

After completing the debriefing, Mondo dismissed Rocketboy and Naomi, leaving a very uncomfortable Ash and Misty sitting in the amphitheatre-like room, watching him sort through some papers in a box file. Ash wondered when the next shoe would drop.

"Now, The Boss has asked me to brief you on your next assignment," Mondo announced.

Ash braced himself. _This is it_, he told himself.

Mondo turned to the video wall and pressed a button on a remote control he pulled from his utility belt. The room's lights dimmed and a map of an island appeared on the screens. The island, which was shaped rather like a liver was small, according to the scale, 15 kilometres across at its widest point and about 30 kilometres long. "Aquamarine Island in the Orange Archipelago," Mondo announced. "This is the home of the Organisation's primary Pokémon Research Facility. The research centre is not engaged in any major work at present, and the Inner Council has decided to temporarily transfer the research staff, most importantly the facility director, Dr. Leona Morgan, to higher priority work." Mondo knew, but didn't add, that Dr. Morgan was The Boss's lover and that he had been looking forward to seeing her again.

Mondo pressed the button on his remote again and the video wall began to automatically cycle through images of the research facility, the staff residences and the landscape of Aquamarine Island. "With the removal of the research team," Mondo continued, "there is no need for the facility's large support staff to remain on the island, so we are also taking the opportunity to rotate them back to headquarters for some rest & recreation leave."

"Uh… shouldn't we leave _someone_ behind?" Ash asked. "I mean, it would be risky to completely mothball a facility like that."

"I'm glad you asked that, Mr. Ketchum," Mondo said smugly. Ash, too late, recognised the trapped move. "While most of the island's facilities are completely automatic, some human presence is necessary for security reasons. You, Ms. Waterflower and two other White Team agents have been assigned to take on a 'caretaker' role until we return the support staff to the island in eight weeks' time."

"You mean… we've been assigned to guard a virtually empty research facility?" Misty asked, not sure whether or not to be relieved or insulted.

"Not 'virtually empty,' Ms. Waterflower," Mondo said with a smirk. "Totally empty. It will be just you, your team-mates and the Pokémon."

Ash's mouth opened and closed a few times. _This is a punishment detail if I've ever seen one_, Ash decided. He knew he couldn't avoid it, but he had his pride, so he tried to wiggle out if he could. "Sir… surely this assignment would be better suited for some newer agents," he said carefully. "Experienced field agents like us…"

"Mr. Ketchum, the Inner Council regards Aquamarine Island as one of our most important facilities," Mondo said with a false smile and a great deal of condescension. "You should consider it an honour that you and Ms. Waterflower are considered qualified to care for it. Even if you don't," Mondo paused and smiled grimly. "Well, that is hardly relevant, don't you think?"

Ash still couldn't believe this was happening. He was going from a field team leader to the caretaker of a nearly deserted base. This was _definitely_ a punishment detail. He felt insulted, but he was more than a little relieved that Misty was going to be with him. Even so, he knew why he was being sent there. Giovanni didn't trust him and wanted him out of the field so he couldn't cause any trouble by interfering with the operations of the Project.

It was left to Misty to ask the obvious question. "Who are the other two agents assigned to this 'mission?'" she asked. Ash heard the emphasis on 'mission' that indicated Misty felt as insulted as he did.

Mondo heard the emphasis too, from the look on his face. "I don't have that information," he replied, his face an expressionless mask.

Raichu rubbed his head against his Trainer's cheek. [It could be much worse, Ash,] he reminded him. [Be grateful for small mercies.] That made Ash smile grimly. It _could_ be worse. Giovanni could have sent them to take charge of some nasty punishment battalion or try to send him and Misty on different missions. Ash would fight the latter, but he didn't look forward to such a struggle. He would just have to make the most of an indifferent posting.

"What research did the Organisation perform on Aquamarine Island?" Ash asked.

"It is a cloning and genetic engineering laboratory," Mondo replied. "It replaces the old facility on Mew Island, which was destroyed in a freak accident." That didn't sound right. Ash knew that something _else_ had happened to Mew Island, but he couldn't figure out what. Every time he tried, the memory scampered away like a frightened Rattata. "Are there any other questions?" Mondo asked. When neither Ash nor Misty answered, he turned off the video wall and then the lighting returned to normal. "Then you are dismissed. You are scheduled to depart tomorrow morning at 0600, so I would get an early night if I were you."

Outside the Briefing Room, Ash sagged against the wall. "Well, we're off to exile," he said. "I'm sorry I dragged you along on this, Misty."

Misty shook her head. "I made my own choices, Ash," she said firmly. "Will you stop blaming yourself for them? It is demeaning. Besides, it will be a nice change. We're going to spend the next two months relaxing and sunbathing on the Team's time! Consider it a vacation!"

"Somehow I doubt things will go that smoothly," Ash said grimly. Misty had to agree with that.

**__**

Chapter 3 – Far Away

Ash, Misty, Raichu and Togetic were standing together in one of the Headquarters facility's big hanger bays. Around them sat their luggage: two duffel bags, a one large suitcase with some spare uniforms and another of civilian clothing for 'off-duty' use. Ash agreed with Jessie's assessment that having so few personal possessions that they could fit them in so little space was a bit tragic.

Also present were all of their Pokémon. Ash had a total of eighteen Pokémon now. Six were in their Pokéballs on his belt, Raichu was hanging onto the back of his uniform and was peering over his shoulder, Blissey and Raichu's never-used Pokéball were on special loops on Ash's belt and the other ten were snug in their balls tucked away in his duffel bag. Misty now had fourteen Pokémon. Togetic virtually never used his Pokéball, but Misty had the regulation six balls on her belt too.

Last night, Ash had taken a risk. He was shocked at how much had happened with their friends and family while they were out in the field and cut off from normal communications. He wanted to ensure that he would not lose touch in the same way again. Ash learnt that Buddy had been assigned to the Communications Centre at Headquarters. He had managed to convince the man to do him a few favours. So, when Ash's little sister was born and if there was any other major news flashes from his and Misty's families, they would find out about it far more quickly. Ash had instructed his mom, Tracey, Lily and Violet not to over-use this little arrangement. Only time would tell if the Sensational Sisters could restrain their instinct to gossip.

Right now, he felt a bit nervous as he waited for the transport that would take him to his new assignment. The other members of the team remained a mystery and Ash didn't like mysteries. He had a nasty feeling it would be a pair of the Elite 'Red' Rockets, to keep him and Misty in line…

"Ash, Misty? What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice.

Ash turned around and looked at Jessie, James and Meowth. The three familiar faces were clearly getting ready to ship out, too. "We're off to a new assignment," Ash said.

"A good one?" James sounded a bit mournful, but he always did.

"No," Misty snapped before Ash could reply. "We're being stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere for two months! This is _not_ what I consider a glamour assignment!"

"Well, we feel your pain, dear," Jessie said soothingly. "We've been sent to be caretakers of some kind of research station!"

There was a long pause during which Jessie and James watched in fascination as Ash and Misty's faces grew redder and redder. "Aquamarine Island?" Ash finally managed to grind out. James nodded. "Snap," Ash said bitterly.

Jessie sagged a bit. "Why is The Boss sending us to such an out-of-the-way place?" James whined. "I'll get bored!"

"Shut up, James," Jessie sighed.

"I think it is to punish us," Ash stated in a tone of certainty.

"For _what_?" Jessie protested. "We aren't like you, Ash! We don't go running around doing whatever we want to do! We're _good_ Rockets!"

Misty didn't know whether or not Jessie's comments were meant to be insulting. Judging by the look of genuine distress on her face, she thought not. Jessie had a well-deserved reputation for being someone with an acid tongue, but, in this case, she was right. "Maybe that is the problem," Misty couldn't resist teasing. "Perhaps he doesn't think you three take the initiative enough any more."

"Hey! We're inventive!" Meowth protested.

"Yeah? When was the last time we did anything original, then?" James asked mournfully.

"Well, dere was de time when… ah… no… um… Well we… ah… nah, not really _dat_ original. Well we caught a few Trainers by digging a hole," Meowth finally managed to offer.

"Who dug themselves out with a Sandslash and blasted us off with an Elekid," Jessie reminded him. Despite that embarrassing low point, she couldn't understand why this was happening either. Their last tour of duty, six months of acting as roving trouble-shooters, visiting bases and checking out how field teams were working, had gone well. She understood that, despite their tendency to make their own priorities, Ash and Misty's last tour had gone very well too. _Why_ was The Boss effectively exiling them?

A depressed silence fell over the four humans and three Pokémon for a long moment. "So," Ash said at last, "the Team's resident renegades have been paired up with Mr. and Ms. Drill Book. What do you think that means?"

It was a sign of how depressed Jessie was that she didn't rise to Ash's implied insult. "It means we are all in The Boss's bad books," she said. "You two haven't experienced that yet," she added to Ash and Misty. "Believe me, it isn't nice."

"Still, at least he hasn't got us hunting for clams and making him drinks at his beach house," James said, trying to sound up-beat. Jessie shuddered when she remembered that punishment detail, at the conclusion of their first futile year of Twerp-chasing.

"Hey, cheer up!" Meowth said, grinning insanely. "We got a whole island to ourselves! Meowth! It's gonna be like a holiday!"

"Yeah, a holiday with no clubs, no parties, no people and no _fun_," Misty reminded the cat-like Pokémon. 

So the depressed silence returned.

At that point Giovanni, accompanied by Shadow, his Persian, walked out onto the hanger floor. "What are you troublemakers doing here together?" he asked angrily. The four humans (and Meowth) snapped to attention.

"Uh… we're waiting for our transport to our new assignment, Boss," Ash said.

Giovanni sized the young agent up like an Arbok sizing up a Rattata. "Ah, so you four have been assigned to the caretaker duty at Aquamarine Island?" he asked.

__

As if you didn't know, Ash thought bitterly.

"Uh, yes," Misty said. "Uh… is there anything we can do for you, Boss?" Jessie and James both nodded their agreement with the question, eager to curry favour with The Boss.

"Yes," Giovanni said dryly. "Try to stay out of trouble and keep to your assigned missions for once."

[Crawling Weedles,] sneered Shadow.

"Meowth, just you step up a little closer," Meowth hissed. Jessie hit him over the head with a fan to shut him up. The last thing they needed right now was for Meowth to get into a fight with the Boss's favourite Pokémon.

Before Ash or any of the others could say anything else, the hanger doors began to roll open. As they watched, a sleek executive helicopter swung into the hanger. The aircraft touched down and the side doors opened, revealing a woman in a business suit wearing a blood red 'R' pin on the breast of her jacket. She stepped off of the helicopter imperiously. A Persian jumped out of the aircraft and padded alongside her as she walked over to join Giovanni and the four White Rockets.

"Dr. Morgan," Giovanni said. "Welcome back to Headquarters."

"Thank you, Mr. diRocketti," Leona Morgan replied. She turned her imperious gaze onto the four White Rockets. "Are these the people you are sending to look after my island in my absence?" she asked, her voice loaded with contempt.

"So it seems," Giovanni said. "Dr. Leona Morgan, this is Jessica Scarlet, Ashton Ketchum, James Morgan and Mistyra Waterflower."

Ash and James tried to offer the scientist friendly smiles. Jessie gave the woman a single bored glance before looking away and Misty waved nervously and fretted that she was looking silly. Leona smiled grimly at their behaviour. "So, can I rely on you _not_ to break anything?" she asked harshly.

"Ma'am, we will be the soul of professionalism," James said, trying to sound reassuring. "You can rely on us to perform to the best of our abilities."

"That is what I'm afraid of," Giovanni said dryly, making James and Misty sweat slightly.

Jessie was looking somewhere else. Dr. Morgan's Persian had walked up to Shadow and the two cat-like Pokémon were curving around each other, purring ecstatically, their eyes closed sensually. She smiled slightly. You could tell a lot about someone from the behaviour of his or her Pokémon. Ash's Raichu was aggressive and excitable, just like Ash. James' Weezing was clumsy and affectionate, just like James. Misty's Togetic was gentle and courageous, just like Misty. Arbok was like her in that she was graceful and dangerous. From the behaviour of the two Persians, Jessie was willing to bet a year's pay that she had found out who The Boss's girlfriend was. _That_ was a question that had the Headquarters rumour mill buzzing loudly.

"Ms. Scarlet!" shouted The Boss. Jessie jumped in shock and turned back to look at him and Dr. Morgan. She hoped she hadn't missed something important. Well if she had, James would… no… No, she would have to ask Meowth to be sure.

"As I was saying," Leona said with a slight grin at Jessie's surprise, "everything on the island is more-or-less automatic. All our current research projects are completely automated, so you won't have to go into any of the laboratories. You will only have to make sure that the systems that care for our Pokémon work properly and keep an eye on the security monitors. Beyond that, your time is your own."

"Which means that even you four can't possibly screw up this assignment," Giovanni added harshly. "Don't disappoint me by proving that you _can_."

"Uh, can we capture any wild Pokémon we find on the island?" Ash asked. James smiled to himself. Ash never changed. He might have been an agent of Team Rocket for over five years now, but he was still a wandering Novice Trainer at heart.

Leona grinned. "Mr. Ketchum, if you _can_ capture any of the Pokémon on the island, I will be most impressed!"

"Powerful?" Misty asked. Leona recognised the spark in the girl's eyes. She wasn't worried, but eager to get at them.

"Powerful, large and with very high experience levels," Leona said. "They are pretty impressive. You'll see what I mean when you arrive." Leona adjusted the strap on her travel satchel and Ash noticed her put her hand in The Boss's hand. Giovanni gripped her hand and she smiled slightly. Ash covered his own amusement well. "The storerooms are well stocked with food and other consumables," Leona continued. "I don't expect you four to starve, no matter how much you eat. Just one favour: No mess. That place is my home eleven months out of twelve."

"Dr. Morgan," James said with an ingenuous smile, "you won't even know we've been there." Jessie, Ash and Misty all smiled and nodded in a reassuring way.

Giovanni barely held down a smirk. "It had better be that way," he growled. "Any breakages come out of your pay!" The four field agents swallowed nervously.

"I'm sure that you won't get near anything delicate," Leona said. "That, by the way, means _stay out of the laboratories_." She had said that before, but it deserved repeating. "Anyway, apart from the light duties needed to keep the place working, this is a fairly easy assignment." She looked Jessie and Misty up and down. "I hope you girls packed your bikinis."

"I hope they _didn't_," Giovanni grumbled. "My female agents spend too long preening themselves like love-struck Ninetails anyway. All right, you've been briefed. Get out of my sight all four of you! I don't want to hear your names for eight weeks!"

The four field agents scrambled to load their luggage and pile aboard the helicopter. Giovanni watched as the aircraft's engines wound up to full power and it rose into the air. Within a minute, it was a fading silhouette against the southern horizon.

"Aren't you being a bit tough on them, John?" Leona asked.

Giovanni smiled. "They can take it and worse, Leona," he said. "They are my four best agents by a long margin. Nonetheless, they wouldn't feel _right_ if I wasn't shouting at them." He shook his head and put an arm around Leona's shoulders. "My brother's children are tougher than they look. They can handle anything, although I bet they are wondering if I'm punishing them for their rather… individual methods." He snorted. "As if I should punish such things."

"Are you going to tell them?" Leona asked. "Is that why you've sent them to my island?"

Giovanni smiled and nodded. "Yes, but not for a little while. We can enjoy our time together." 

Leona smiled and touched his lips with hers.

***

The helicopter shot over the Southern Sea at its' flank speed of 450 miles an hour. In the passenger cabin, Ash, Jessie, James and Misty were fighting the most terrible enemy a person can know when travelling: Boredom.

"Are we there yet?" James asked.

"Just a little further," Jessie replied automatically. They had been in this question/brush-off reply loop for about fifteen minutes now.

"Are we there yet?" 

"Just a little further." 

"Are we there yet?" 

"Just a little further."

"PLEASE!" Misty screamed and whacked Jessie and James over their heads with her mallet (which she kept around for old time's sake). Meowth snickered nastily as his two human friends tried to restart their brains.

"Ouchies… hurting…" James said uncertainly.

"I feel your pain, man," Ash said. Misty glared at him and Ash, smiling broadly, made as if he were warding off her glare.

Jessie rubbed her head experimentally and winced when she touched her lump. She glared at Misty. "You'll pay for that, Brat," she hissed.

"Jessie, do you want to _swim_ back to Headquarters?" Misty asked in a deadly monotone, making the older woman blanch in fright.

"Has she always been this bad at travelling?" James whispered to Ash.

Ash thought back to long years of trekking through the woods. Back to the complaints, continual whining and inevitable friction between the only girl and two particularly dense males. '_Ash Ketchum, don't tell me that we're lost AGAIN!_" a young female voice shouted in his memory. Ash grinned. "James, you have _no_ idea," he replied quietly. "If it makes it any easier, though, she is really a nice person when you're _not_ travelling."

James looked over his shoulder to where Jessie and Misty were glaring at each other dangerously. "I'll take your word for it," he replied.

"Hey back there," the pilot, Jake, called. "We're here!"

The helicopter flew past a flock of pelicans and past several towering offshore buttes. The island's coastline was entirely made up of 300-foot high cliffs topped with a tropical forest. The helicopter shot into a v-shaped cut in the cliff-face and began to race down a narrow winding valley. Their argument forgotten, the four field agents were gawking out at the beautiful scenery. "It's like a Lost World," Misty said gently. "A lost island of monsters and magic, just like in the movies."

"Hey! Was that an Aerodactyl?" Ash called out, pointing out to the left.

"Maybe," Jake called back. "I'd strap down if I were you. There's pretty bad wind shear near the landing stage and hangers, so we have to drop pretty fast…" The helicopter hit a cold air pocket and suddenly dropped ten feet in a split second. Everyone was thrown out of their seats. "Yah-hoo," Jake said weakly.

Ash laughed nervously and strapped himself down, as did Misty. Jessie and James got into a bit of a tangle trying to work out who used what bit of the seat belts. Ash managed to keep a grin off of his face at their low-key arguments. Finally they compromised. Jessie sat in James' lap and he tied the two seatbelts across her lap. Hardly FAA approved, but it seemed to do the job. Misty looked at the set up speculatively and looked at Ash in a way that made him come out in a cold sweat.

The helicopter dropped the final 100 feet in less than ten seconds and alighted on a helipad that had been blasted out of the valley bottom at the base of a beautiful waterfall. Jake immediately taxied into an overhang blasted into the valley wall and shut down the engines. "Welcome to Aquamarine Island, agents," he said.

***

Jake explained that his orders were to drive them to the Research Centre before returning to his helicopter and leaving on his rounds. Ash had an obvious question. "Yes," Jake said. "That means you four will be pretty much marooned here. But you're in constant radio contact with Headquarters. They'll have an evacuation transport here in less than an hour if you have any trouble."

"A lot can happen in an hour," Ash replied.

"Meowth, dat's right," Meowth said nervously. He had the oddest feeling that The Boss was up to something…

The four field agents piled into a HMMVR jeep and, with Jake driving, they set off. The first sign of human habitation was the perimeter security. A 40-foot high fence marked 'Danger! 25,000 Volts!' and a computer monitored double gateway that needed to see Jake's handprint and retina scan before letting them through.

In the left front seat, Misty leaned back to talk to Ash. "You know, this tropical rainforest looks pretty wild," she said. "I wonder what kind of Pokémon they are researching here?"

Ash shrugged. At that point, the jeep shot out of the forest and onto a grassy hill and they all saw it.

"Holy…" Ash gasped.

"Oh my God…" Misty said, covering her mouth in shock.

"Meowth! Da Boss can't be serious!" Meowth squeaked.

[Oh… thunder-shocks] said Raichu.

"Mummy…" squeaked James.

"Crap…!" Jessie gasped.

[Big!] was Togetic's opinion.

A huge animal, approximately 100 feet long, with a long tail and a long upheld neck was striding along the hillside, crying out mournfully. Its' four legs were like tree-trunks and its' neck was a dizzying 30 feet long. James tried to take in the scale of the creature. "It's a dinosaur!" he said in shock.

Ash saw it first; the long leaves resting flush against the giant animal's back and running up the length of its' neck. "More than that… it's a plant-type!" he gasped.

"Dr. Morgan calls it a 'Brachioshrub,' Jake said easily. "It's the third evolutionary level of a type of Pokémon that the research team here cloned from a fossil." The pilot grinned at the four field agents' astonished expressions. "It's what they do here. Like Dr. Morgan said: Powerful, large and with high experience levels."

Ash had to restrain the instinct to call out Firestorm and try to capture the thing on the spot. The Brachioshrub stopped by a particularly tall tree, cried out loudly and, balancing on its' tail, it lifted itself onto its' hind legs. It pulled off a mouthful of branches and leaves before dropping back down onto all fours, creating a miniature earthquake as its massive weight struck the ground.

The four field agents were rather subdued by the easy-going way Jake rattled of the list of previously unknown fossil-types that the team on the island had cloned. "And there is the Dinoraptor, a fighting-type. Watch out for them, they're smart and real nasty critters. As for firepower, there's Tyranoshock, an electric-type… Um… Dilophospit is a poison-type; Firecrest is a fire-type, although you wouldn't think it. Evosaur is a cute little critter, about the size of a Ponyata. It's a kind of reptile Eevee. There are six possible evolutions, one for every stone. And don't forget Trihorn, that's another level-three, a rock-type this time."

The HMMVR pulled up in front of a sprawling complex of large buildings built in the style of savannah lodges. This, Ash imagined, were the various buildings of the research centre. Jack confirmed this. "Most of the juicy stuff is underground of course," he said. "On paper, this is Mr. diRocketti's personal summer holiday villa. The largest building is the administration and control complex, and the smaller buildings are the personnel quarters. However, you four are going to be staying at the Director's Residence." Jack pointed out the second largest building, a three-storey affair with balconies on every level, an arboretum and a massive swimming pool.

"Wow," Misty said.

"At last," Jessie sighed, "a home that is worthy of me!" Misty somehow restrained a giggle.

***

Jack helped the four field agents offload their luggage, and then he was off back to his helicopter, leaving the four young people to explore the building that would serve as their home for the next few months.

The atrium was a beautiful open roundel with a glass roof allowing the sunlight to stream in over water features and potted trees. The rooms were all radiating off of the atrium. James was the one who found the living room. "Hey! Jessie! Ash! Misty! Look at _this!_" Everyone rushed in and, as children of the communications age, were suitably impressed.

"That TV set is bigger than the one at Headquarters!" Ash breathed as he looked at the 150" holographic widescreen set. Various wooden cabinets contained the surround sound speaker system and Jessie quickly found the video library, filled with DVDs from the dawn of the motion picture era up to the present day. 

Ash looked at the entertainment system and found a familiar set of controls. "Hey, Dr. Morgan has an integrated Nintendo N-Millennium system too!" He sorted through the game cartridges before suddenly whooping in triumph. "All _right_, she's got _Pokémon Supreme_! All the Game Boy releases _and_ the Stadium games on one cart! Good thing I bought my Game Boy!"

"Hah!" James replied. "You'll never stand a chance against me! I was Pokémon Supreme champ in my fraternity at Pokémon Tech for _four years_!"

"You?" Ash snorted. "I'll bet you don't even know what way to hold the control pad!"

"You wait, Twerp!" James snapped back.

Misty smiled patronisingly at the developing 'alpha-male' argument. She turned to Jessie. "Jessie, while the _little boys_ decide who is the toughest, why don't we check out the rest of the building?"

Jessie smiled approvingly. "Of course, dear," she replied. She shook her head as she watched Ash and James get in each other's faces. "It will probably take a while for them to sort this out."

The two women wandered out into the arboretum. They stood for a while at the edge of the Olympic-sized swimming pool and looked at the beautiful trees and flower arrangements. The sun was warm and there was a relaxing cool breeze to stop it from becoming too hot. The sun loungers (with tables for cool drinks beside them) called out to them both on a fundamental level. "This is incredible!" Misty gasped. "It's better than some _palaces_ I've seen!"

Jessie was in a daze as she looked around at the luxury. "Well, I suppose there has to be _some_ compensation for being The Boss's favourite," she replied. Never before had Jessie been so aware of the _power_ The Boss had.

Misty smiled and reminded herself of the facility's cover. No doubt Giovanni _wanted_ it to look like a playboy's pleasure palace. The really important stuff was all underground with the research facilities. Still, she was willing to bet that Dr. Morgan never felt restrained from not using these facilities to the full.

Suddenly there was a loud shriek from inside the building. "James!" Jessie gasped. She frowned. "Now what has he got himself into?"

The women ran inside and followed Ash into a room opposite the living room. It was a kitchen area the size of most Field Teams' entire barracks block. James was standing in front of a walk-in refrigerator, an expression of profound stupidity on his face. "What is it James?" Jessie asked worriedly.

James could only point while mouthing 'Food! Food!' over and over again. The other three looked and their brains jumped the rails too. The amount of tongue-exploding luxury fare within was beyond their wildest imaginations.

Misty grinned and rubbed her gloved hands together. "My friends, my fellow field agents, we have _scored_," she said with a laugh. "If the Boss wanted to punish us, he has gone the wrong way about it!"

Everyone was staring at the gastronomic wonders when Ash suddenly grabbed Misty's arm and towed her out of the room. "Hey, come on, Misty," he said.

"Ash what…?"

Ash winked at her and mouthed 'bedroom.' Misty grinned and nodded. Leaving Jessie and James still staring at the provisions, they jogged up the beautiful open stairwell.

The second level was full of relaxation areas. There was a computer room, a library (filled with more books than Ash and Misty had ever _seen_ before, let alone read), a luxurious Scandinavian sauna and two bathrooms, each with gigantic Jacuzzi/bath units from their wildest dreams.

The third level had the bedrooms. Being the first, Ash and Misty took the ancient Team Rocket principle of 'finders keepers' to heart and strode through the largest set of double doors. "Wow…!" Ash said for the fifth time in as many minutes. "I… think this must be the room that The Boss and Dr. Morgan must use when they're both on the island," he suggested.

"Yeah…" Misty agreed. The master bedroom was the size of an eight-person barracks block and took up the entire north quadrant of the second floor. As well as wardrobes lining one wall, there was also an _en suite_ bathroom (with Jacuzzi), a 50" widescreen TV set, a sound system that looked better than the one in the living room, and a mini-bar (alcoholic and otherwise). The bed… the bed was _circular_ and the size of an APC. There were mirrors on the ceiling, a kinky touch that told them both a lot about both Giovanni and Leona's tastes.

Ash nervously walked up and sat down on the bed, feeling the resilience of a top-of-the-range mattress. "This is… incredible!" Ash gasped as Misty sat beside him. "I don't think that we'll need to leave this room most days!"

"Yeah…" Misty said with a sudden, sensual smile, "I can keep you entertained!" She leaned forward and their lips met in a passionate kiss. Holding on to each other, the two fell back onto the bed.

[Please, grow up you two,] Raichu remarked as he strode in.

[Yeah, Mommy, Daddy, there is a time and a place for everything, Togetic agreed.

"Quiet, or I'll put you in your Pokéballs," Ash said firmly. He and Misty went back to making out. One of the things he enjoyed about their relationship was that they still had a teenage enjoyment from just being together, hugging and kissing.

"YUCK! Can't you two wait?" Jessie sneered. James just looked on in amazement at the contortions Ash and Misty had got in to. Both of them just about ducked the big goose-feather pillows that flew at them from the bed.

***

"Control to Rover," James said into the microphone. "I need a status report, Ash."

There was a pause before Ash replied, meaning that he was probably not in the jeep he had been using to tour around the island's remote facilities. James leaned back in his chair inside the heavily computerised Command & Control bunker under the administration building and started stroking Growly, his Arcanine, between the ears. 

The control centre, like everything else about Aquamarine Island, was state-of-the-art. The facilities reminded James of the Major Missions room at Headquarters, with several rows of consoles and three large monitors at the very front of the room. James was sitting in the centre of a massive control station with computers and consoles piled up around him making up five faces of a hexagonal cubicle. He assumed that this was where Dr. Morgan's Operations Director managed the base.

"_Hey James_," Ash's voice came from the speakers in the roof of the room. "_Sorry about that, I was a bit busy. I've just finished the last facility on today's schedule and I'm heading back home for the day._"

"What have you been up to, Ash?" James asked suspiciously. Ash was one of those types who would do anything, no matter how outrageous, if he liked the thought of it. James had a horrible vision of 'Up Yours, Boss' spray-painted in neon pink on the side of a Brachioshrub.

"_Oh, nothing we can get in trouble for_," Ash said in false-sounding innocence. James sighed. He was about to reply, but there was a hiss of static, indicating that Ash had turned his jeep's radio off. James nervously reached down to tickle Growly some more. He ought to trust Ash, James knew that, but somehow he never stopped feeling that the younger man was in this for his own ends, not the good of Team Rocket.

Growly whined good-naturedly and licked his hand. [Raichu's Trainer is a good man,] he reminded his own Trainer. [He would never hurt anyone if he can avoid it. Besides,] and here Growly's voice became annoyed and resentful, [the Talking Cat is with him.]

James laughed gently and rubbed Growly's head a bit harder. For as long as he knew, the dog-like Pokémon had known what was on his mind. He was right of course. Meowth would keep Ash in line. Ash respected the cat's experience and would listen if he told him not to do something.

They had been on the island two weeks now and had settled in. They had arranged a duty roster (with a lot of flashing mallets and paper fans when the girls decided they didn't want a certain duty). Now they were getting into the swing of things and the assignment, as Meowth had predicted, had turned into a holiday of sorts.

James took one last look at the situation monitors and decided that there was nothing left to do. There was a big fat nothing waiting for action in the communications buffer and there was nothing moving within 100 miles of the island in any direction according to the radar. James set the systems to automatic, safe in the assurance that the computers would sound an alarm in the residence if an intruder aircraft or sea vessel got too close to the island, and walked out of C&C.

With Growly at his side, James went down to the underground vehicle pool. He arrived just in time to see Ash drive his jeep into the garage, virtually jumping down the ramp and skidding to a halt. "Hey, James!" Ash shouted, vaulting out of the driving seat without bothering to open the door. Raichu jumped out and started skipping around him excitedly.

James felt worried again. Ash and Raichu were only like this after something _really_ good happened. "Okay, Ash, spill it," he said. "What have you done?"

Ash shot James an innocent look that didn't fool him for one second. [Yeah! Tell him the good news!] Raichu squeaked excitedly.

"Meowth! Yeah, why don't ya tell James da 'good news,'" Meowth moaned from the Jeep's back seat, sounding worried and upset.

"Meowth, chill out already!" Ash advised with a laugh. James folded his arms and tried to look threatening. It didn't work, but Ash was too hyper to keep his achievements a secret right now. "Okay, James, I've got two bits of good news and a bit _great _news! You know those big meat-eating electric types with the itty-bitty little forearms? The Tyranoshocks?" Ash asked. James nodded. "Well one got out of their compound and charged the jeep. Fortunately, I had my Rhydon and my Graveler, Stoney," he continued. "What can I say? I was just _too_ hot today! Not only did Stoney evolve into a Golem, but also…" Ash raised a Super-type Pokéball, which he waggled suggestively.

"Oh no," James groaned. "Ash, don't tell me that you _captured_ one of the experimental Pokémon!" Ash grinned unrepentantly and put the Super-ball back on his belt. "Ash! You are going to get us all in _serious_ trouble!"

"Come on, James," Ash protested. "Dr. Morgan never said that we _shouldn't_ capture any of the Pokémon on this island, just that it would be very _hard_!" Ash winked. "Unfortunately for her, I'm good at doing the impossible!"

[We're Team Supreme,] Raichu agreed, standing on his hindlegs and giving James a little victory sign.

James had to laugh at that. "Anyway," Ash continued, "I didn't want you guys to feel left out so…"

"Meowth, here comes the nasty bit," Meowth sighed. Ash gave him a dirty look.

"Anyway," Ash said, "I got some of those Eevee-like earth-types, the Evosaurs. One for you," Ash tossed James a red-and-white standard-type Pokéball, "one for me," he continued, patting a new ball on his belt, "and one each for the ladies."

"Ash…! You didn't catch just one but _five_? You are going to get us busted down to permanent latrine duties when The Boss finds out," James said.

"He won't if we don't tell anyone," Ash replied with a wink.

James looked at the ball containing his new Evosaur for a moment before sighing deeply and putting it onto his Pokébelt. Ash was right, of course. Team Rocket had always maintained that its' agents could keep anything they could capture so long as the Boss hadn't ordered them to bring it to him. James had a Thunder Stone that he found in Viridian Forest. It would be interesting to see what happened if he used it on Evosaur after he had got it trained. He had wanted an electric-type anyway…

He sighed again, shook his head and followed Ash out of the vehicle pool. He wondered what the girls were doing.

***

In the deserted C&C bunker, a screen displayed the long-range radar display. A single dot appeared at the very edge of the northern radar cover. The screens flashed with data as the base's computer system processed the possible threat.

"_Unidentified aircraft approaching island on bearing 355. Defence condition Yellow._"

"_Interrogating intruder aircraft IFF transponder…_"

"_IFF recognition code received. Team Rocket IFF protocols detected. Requesting ID and security codes…_"

"_IFF Transponder ID code received: TR-A-001. Aircraft identified as Team Rocket executive transport._" 

"_Security Code received: THX-541-285/IIX-3. Code matches Team Rocket Inner Council priority security codes for current security cycle. Security Clearance confirmed as Clearance Gold. Priority Access to all facilities and equipment._"

"_Stand down defence systems. Clearance to approach and land transmitted to aircraft TR-A-001._"

"_Returning to standby mode…_"

***

Ash and James found the Residence building empty, which wasn't a big surprise. It was a fine day out on the margins of the Southern Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Only an idiot would stay indoors on such a day if they could avoid it.

The two men walked out to the swimming pool and froze at the sight before them. James' jaw dropped open and Ash could only stare, looking most undignified. Misty and Jessie were relaxing on sun-loungers and topping up their suntans. Nothing particularly unusual about that, it was just that both ladies had clearly decided to avoid bikini lines.

Misty, who was lying on her chest, opened her eyes and smiled wickedly at the two stunned men. "Are you two going to just stand there, or are you going to get us both a drink?" she asked. She winked seductively. "The sooner you get that done, the sooner you can join us!"

Jessie didn't open her eyes, but from the sudden clatter of combat boots, she surmised that a Pikachu using a Swift attack couldn't have moved faster.

***

That night, no one was awake to notice the black-clad figure that stalked through the residence building. This person was a past master at moving around undetected and, besides, the four young field agents were rightly certain that the buildings alarms would detect any intruder. However, the alarms were not functioning, shut down by a Team Rocket command code. 

So the four young people, who were understandably exhausted after the day's activities, were completely unaware of the person who was going through their wardrobes with such methodical care.

**__**

Chapter 4 – True Lies

Ash was still in a semi-conscious state between waking and sleeping. He and Misty had… well they had loved each other pretty thoroughly last night and Ash was still relaxed in the aftermath. It was days like this that he could half-forget that there was anything wrong with the world. It was just him, his two closest friends and the woman that he loved to the point of distraction on a paradise isle. He was quite happy with his situation right now.

Misty had just left the bed, leaving an aching cold emptiness at Ash's side. Still, he was too relaxed to care right now…

"Ash!" Misty's voice was alarmed. His eyes snapped open and he snapped to a sitting position, years of training and bitter experience bringing him to full wakefulness in an instant.

"What is it, Misty?" Ash asked, alarmed. Misty was out of sight in one of the room's massive wardrobes.

"Ash… I don't think we, Jessie and James are the only people on the island," Misty said.

"What makes you say that?" Ash asked, befuddled.

"Well…" there was a pause before Misty walked out and Ash boggled at the uniform she was wearing. "Someone has changed all our uniforms," she said. Misty was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. It was her preferred style, with the tunic ending at the level of the diaphragm, exposing the waist of her body suit, but the colours were wrong. The body suit, gloves and boots were the standard black, but the uniform over-trousers and tunic were blood red and the Team Rocket sigil was picked out with a pencil-thin white outline over the heart. It was the uniform of an Elite 'Red' Rocket. "Your uniforms have all been swapped for identical ones in red too," Misty continued, sounding shocked.

It was a very shocked and red-clad Ash and Misty who stood on the second-floor landing waiting for Jessie and James. Neither of them were remotely surprised at the sight when their friends emerged from their bedroom. Both of them looked highly self-conscious, and both were wearing red uniforms in their preferred style.

Jessie made a fair stab at being annoyed. "Is… is this your idea of a joke, Twerp?" she asked quietly. Ash shook his head. "No," she said. "I didn't think so. What is this?"

"I have a nasty idea," Ash said. "Come on, we'd better get something to eat."

After a very subdued breakfast in the kitchen, the four agents, including a very worried-looking Meowth, Togetic and Raichu, entered the living room. Ash wasn't surprised in the slightest by whom he saw standing in front of the TV screen, wearing his gold-highlighted stone brown uniform. "Come in, Agents," Giovanni diRocketti said firmly.

***

Ash, Misty, Jessie and James sat down opposite Giovanni, trying not to feel too afraid. The Red Rockets were Team Rocket's elite force. Only the finest agents were part of this division of the organisation (Butch and Cassidy had been promoted to the Red Squads about a year ago, for instance). The Red Rockets got the hardest and, frequently, the bloodiest assignments. This sudden surprise promotion boded no good, especially because of the secretive way Giovanni had carried it out.

"Now, I should start by apologising for misleading you," Giovanni said smoothly, surprising the four field agents. The Boss _apologising_ to them? "Although this assignment is a genuine one, I admit that I sent you four out here on false pretences. I didn't really want four such skilled agents on such a menial task, but I wanted you away from Headquarters and all the distractions that brings when I told you this." Giovanni pulled in a deep breath. "I wanted you to have the time to think when I told you the truth."

"The… 'truth?'" Jessie asked after a long pause. "What truth is that?"

Giovanni smiled. "There are many of them, Jessie," he said gently. "Many of them will be difficult for you to deal with, and some will be difficult for you to understand, but the time has come for you to hear them." Giovanni turned away to gather his thoughts before turning back to them. He leaned down, opened his briefcase and pulled out a fragile photograph in a plastic cover. "Take a good look at this, Jessica," he said quietly, and almost fearfully.

Jessie took the photograph and gasped. "It is a picture of me with Mama!" she cooed. James stood up and looked over her shoulder. "It… it can't have been taken long before she died! I must say I look a lot better than in that last photo she took! I was crying my eyes out in that one!" Jessie suddenly saw the other figures in the picture and frowned. "Who is the man and who is the baby?" she asked.

"The man is your father," Giovanni said. "He was, up to the time of his death, the finest man ever to wear the uniform."

Misty and Ash had joined Jessie and James. "Your dad looks like Ash, Jessie," Misty teased.

"Yes… yes he does, doesn't he?" Jessie said, surprised and horrified by the realisation. "Who is the baby?"

"That… is your brother, Jessica," Giovanni said. That brought all activity in the room to a halt.

"I… I… I don't have a brother," Jessie said in a small, frightened voice.

"You don't _think _you have a brother," Giovanni corrected her. "I'm sorry, Jessie, but when your parents died, my mother, Madame Boss as she was known, decided that you should be placed with separate foster families. You didn't see each other again for a decade."

"I… I _have_ met him?" Jessie was confused now. "When?"

"He is in the room with you right now," Giovanni said quietly. No one picked up on that comment immediately. Giovanni sighed and drew a hand through his slicked-back hair. "This will be difficult for all of you, but you must hear me out. 'DiRocketti' is not my family's real name, but one we use to protect our families from our enemies. We _are_ Italian by descent, but our family hasn't visited the Mother Country for… oh I would say at least 150 years now. We have an English family name and our given names are English too. For instance, my given name is really 'Jonathan.'"

That revelation made alarm bells ring in Ash's mind. Suddenly, dim memories of his first waking moments of his new life came rushing back with frightening clarity. He became painfully tense. Misty noticed immediately and grabbed his hand. "Ash! What is it?" she asked quietly. Ash didn't reply. Rather, he grabbed her hand and squeezed hard.

"The man in the photograph is my younger brother Joseph, or 'Giuseppi,' to use the Italian styling," Giovanni continued. Jessie looked shocked. She almost dropped the photograph and James had to stop her from falling over in amazement. "Yes, Jessica," Giovanni said compassionately, "that makes you my niece."

"But… but I would have remembered," Jessie protested. "I don't remember anything about Papa's family at all… why can't I remember it?"

"Your parents' death was so traumatic that your mind blanked almost all your memories of your childhood," Giovanni explained. "Your father's identity, almost everything about your mother and all your memories of your younger brother were all gone. In retrospect, I should have told you earlier, let you see my photos and the videos of our family together, but I didn't want to cause you pain by opening old wounds before you were ready to hear it." Giovanni drew in a deep breath before continuing. "You might be interested to know that you mother's full name was 'Marion Miyamoto.' Like all of us born in Kanto, she had an English first name and a Japanese middle name, but she hated her first name, and she was 'Miyamoto,' or just 'Miya' to everyone."

"I… How could you do that?" Jessie said, starting to cry. "I can barely remember anything about Mama even now! Now you tell me that you could have filled in all those gaps but decided not to? _Why?_" That last question was in the form of a despairing scream.

Tears were streaming down Jessie's cheeks. Her lover and her two friends closed around her to support her and lead her to a chair. "Sir, with _all due respect_," Ash said, letting all his sarcasm and scorn into his voice, "that was a lousy thing to do. She deserved to know her past."

"Ash, I didn't want to hurt her!" Giovanni snapped back. "The _pain_ she went through when Joe and Miya died almost drove her mad! I didn't want to tell her until I was sure she could handle it!" Giovanni looked at Jessie, who was weeping onto James' shoulder.

Ash shook his head in disbelief. "So you say her brother's in the room," Ash suddenly said. "Who is it? And _please_ don't tell me it is James."

Giovanni smirked. "No, it isn't," he said, "_nephew_. Don't tell me you forgot what I told you on that first day."

"I… I thought it was a dream," Ash said in a suddenly frightened tone of voice. Misty was at his side in an instant. "No," Ash said. His voice began to rise to a shout, laden with fear and denial. "No, you can't tell me that. My mother's name is _Delilah Ketchum_! She has never told me much about my father, but I _know_ he wasn't an agent of Team Rocket!"

"Did she ever say or even imply that he was _not_?" Giovanni asked. "I know that she has told you very little indeed about your father, Ash. Trust me, his name was Joseph Ketchum. He was my younger brother and the light to your grandmother's soul."

"Wait a minute!" Jessie suddenly snapped. "Are you suggested that Papa cheated on Mama and that Ash is my half-brother?"

Giovanni laughed. "God no," he said. Everyone relaxed when they heard that. "Joe was far too loyal to Miya to cheat on her! No, Ash is your _full _brother! Why else would Miyamoto be holding him in the photo?"

Ash fell to his knees. "_No…_" he whispered. "No, you're lying!"

"Ash, I'm sorry," Giovanni said in a remorseful tone of voice. "You are Joe and Miyamoto's son, Jessie's brother. When your father and mother died in the service of Team Rocket, your grandmother decided that, as you were only six months old, Delilah should have custody of you. That as a woman, and kin, she could care for you better than some assigned Team Rocket foster family. 

"Delilah was so loyal to Miyamoto, but she never understood Joe and Miya's ideals. She felt that, when Jessie was born, they should have resigned from Team Rocket and tried to bring up their family in safety. Delilah never told lies, but neither did she tell you the complete truth. She loves you as her much as if you were her own child, Ash, and she wanted to protect you. She even changed her surname from 'Scarlet' to 'Ketchum' to prevent any awkward questions about your parentage. It wasn't a bad thing on her part at all, in my view. Unfortunately, sometimes things have a tendency to catch up with you, no matter how hard you try."

"You're LYING!" Ash shouted, his face bright red and tears starting in his eyes.

"Am I?" Giovanni asked firmly. "If I were to play a tape, could you tell me if you have heard it before?" Giovanni pulled an old 16-track tape recorder out of his briefcase and pressed the 'play' button. 

A woman's gentle voice, singing a beautiful lullaby echoed through the living room. Jessie's raised her head, her face filled with wonder. "Mama!" she said quietly. "Oh… oh I know this song!" Her face twisted with frustration. "Why can't I remember where I know it from?"

Ash was crying openly now. "You… _bastard_!" he groaned. "Huh… how did you do this? How did you fake someone singing the song my Mom always sang when I was a baby? I can remember it so clearly!"

"It isn't a fake, Ash," Giovanni said. "Please face the truth. I can arrange a DNA test if you want. You are Jessie's younger brother. You are the son of Joseph and Miyamoto Ketchum, my brother and my sister-in-law."

"No…" Ash said again, more in pain than in denial. Giovanni, respecting the shock the young people must be feeling, left the room, leaving behind the photograph and the tape recorder. The song ended and voices began to speak.

"_Joe, what the hell are you doing poking that microphone at me?_" Miyamoto Ketchum hissed from across a decade of time.

A male voice, one Ash and Jessie immediately _knew_, laughed gently. "_You look and sound so beautiful when you sing to baby Ash, Miya,_" Joe Ketchum replied gently. "_Even Jessie says that it is lovely. You should become a singer! You'll make a mint!_"

Miyamoto laughed and there was the sound of movement. "_You are crazy Joe,_" she said. "_Come on, I've got enough time to sing to Jessie too before we have to go on the new mission._" The movement continued.

"_Do you want a better photo of her?_" Joe asked.

"_No_," Miyamoto said. "_I like that one of her crying. It reminds me that I love her. Come on, quiet now, I don't want to wake up Ash._"

The room fell silent and there was a 'click' as the tape reached the end and auto-stopped. Ash was suddenly on his feet and running as fast as he could. Misty rose to follow, but suddenly Jessie was at her side. She shook her head and then turned to follow him out of the building.

***

Ash was kneeling on an earthen embankment, crying helplessly. Raichu was cuddled up to him, helpless to reassure him or comfort him.

"Ash?" Jessie called gently. "Ash… I… are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Ash hissed. "I have just been told my whole life was a _fucking lie!_ How would _you_ feel?"

Jessie reeled back from Ash's venomous shout. "Ash, I'm sure The Boss had his reasons," she said, although she felt her own heartbreak. "He has told us the truth now. We have to move on!"

"Jessie it isn't that easy," Ash said with a sigh. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "All my life I idolised my mystery father. My Mom… I guess I should call her my Aunt Delilah now… She told me that he had been a great Pokémon Master. I forced myself through agony at school to get the grades I needed to go on a Pokémon Journey. I have been through fire, ice, flood and drought to become a Master, to follow in my father's footsteps. Now I learn that he was a Team Rocket agent, one of the best! I have lost everything that gave my life meaning!"

"Don't give me that!" Jessie snapped. "What about your Pokémon? What about Misty? Are you going to forget all they have done for you just because your parents weren't who you thought they were?"

"I… I feel like I have misled them," Ash said. "How can I ask them to be my friends anymore? I don't know who I _am _any more!"

"You are being so _selfish_!" Jessie shouted suddenly, slapping Ash across the face. "Are you the only one who is hurting, Ash? Think of how this has affected your friends!"

"I don't know if that is what they are any more," Ash said in a hollow tone of voice. "They… they're friends with Ash Kechum of Pallet Town, not with Ash, the nephew of Giovanni of Team Rocket!"

Raichu butted his hand with his head. [You are still my Trainer,] the electric squirrel insisted. [I still love you.]

"You are still the same person!" Jessie snapped. "Nothing has changed for you! I'm the one who has problems! I've wasted ten years of my life, wondering about my past and about who my family were," Jessie said. "Now I learn that my family was closer by than I imagined but that it was all kept from me! All that time when I could have been reclaiming my past has been wasted! I feel…" Jessie paused and sighed, a sob snagging her breath. "I feel dirty and used, Ash. I feel like someone has raped my soul for their own purposes."

"Jessie, don't feel bad," Ash said. His natural compassion brought him to his feet and he grabbed her by the shoulders. "None of this is your fault!"

"If it isn't my fault, then it isn't yours either," Jessie said tartly, shaking Ash's hands off her shoulders. "If I'm not allowed to wallow in self-pity, then neither are you!"

Ash looked a bit surprised and took a step back. "Who is trying to comfort who here?" he asked after staring at Jessie for a long moment.

Jessie shot Ash an equally befuddled look. "I… I'm not sure," she admitted. She started to giggle. "I thought I was trying to help you, and you end up trying to help me!" Jessie started laughing as Ash began to chuckle, then laugh out loud.

"I remembered you," Ash said through his laughter. "When we fought at the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City for the first time, I was certain I knew you from somewhere! Now I know where!" Ash was laughing his head off by now.

"I knew you too!" Jessie shouted through her laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks. "From that very first moment! I had all sorts of dreams of Mama with a black haired baby! I thought I was going mad!"

The two young people fell into each other's arms, still laughing their heads off. After a moment they calmed down, but didn't release the hug. "Dear Jessie, by Madonna," Ash suddenly said.

Jessie's eyes grew wide. "What makes you mention that song?" she asks.

"It has always been on my mind," he said. "It haunts my dreams, and now I know why. I bet you a year's pay that Mom was going to sing that to you before she left."

"Yes… yes that was always my favourite song when I was young," Jessie said, awed. "I remembered it even when I couldn't remember the context…" Jessie paused and looked at Ash. "It is all true, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes," Ash said, calmer now. "I think I can accept it. Everything fits my few memories of my first year of life. It… _feels _right too."

"I think I would like to have a little brother," Jessie said with a silly smile.

"I would love to have a big sister," Ash replied with a grin. On an impulse, he leaned forward and kissed his sister on her cheek. Jessie blushed and let Ash lead her back towards the Residence.

***

Ash and Jessie re-entered the room, still hand-in-hand. James and Misty jumped to their feet and rushed over to their respective lovers.

Jessie literally fell into James' arms and hugged him as tightly as she could, tears streaming down her face. "My love," she whispered into his ear.

Misty kept her distance and treated Ash with the fearful respect one would give a wounded Houndoom. She watched as Ash knelt in front of the coffee table and picked up the photograph. She knelt beside him, a strange feeling in her chest as if something very important were happening. Ash reached out to each of the figures in the photograph reverently. "Dad," he murmured, "Mom, sister." Ash shook his head. "Somehow… I always knew I wasn't who I thought I was. I always knew there was an unspoken truth about my parentage."

"I still love you, Ash," Misty replied stoutly. "Just because you weren't the child of Delilah and some mystery trainer doesn't change what I feel for you. Nothing can change that."

"I know," Ash whispered. "You are why I'm still alive, you know." He hugged her. Suddenly he whispered something into her ear. "Want to get married?" he asked. Misty sat back, shocked. "Not just yet, of course," he continued. "But soon."

Misty was saved from having to answer by Giovanni re-entering the room. "So, have you come to terms with this truth yet?" the man asked harshly. James peered closely at The Boss. Had he been… _crying_?

"I have come to terms with the fact that my biological parents were your brother and sister in law," Ash replied angrily. "I have come to terms with the fact that Jessie is biologically my sister, but the woman who has cared for me all my life is _still_ my mother. Nothing has changed for me."

Giovanni smiled slightly. "I expected you'd feel like that," he said. "You should never lose your love for Delilah, Ash. She deserves better than to be abandoned like that."

"Boss… how did our parents die?" Jessie suddenly asked. "You've told me a story about Mew, but I wonder if that, too, was a 'necessary' lie."

Giovanni sighed. "You're right and wrong," he said. "This is hard, but I suppose you've got to know. Joe and Miyamoto had an informant who told them that a trainer had caught a Mew and that it was at the Pallet Town Pokémon Research Centre. They went to Pallet Town, and found that it was a trap. The Security Police were waiting and opened fire without giving them a chance to surrender. Their informant was the Deputy Director of the Centre, one Doctor Samuel Okido Oak. He _betrayed _and _murdered _your father and mother."

There was a long, horrified pause. "Why?" James suddenly asked. "Why so much blood? What is the cause that meant we have to fight in a war?"

Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "A good question, James," he said. "You will, of course, remember the Cause as it is described in Basic Training. Why don't you tell us what it is Misty?"

Misty jumped, a little surprised. "We're fighting to break the power of the U.N. Governing Committee," she said. "We're fighting to make Kanto, Johto and Orange self-governing and to allow Trainers to take their place in society as something other than gladiators for the entertainment of the masses."

"I don't know about you," Ash murmured to James, "but _I _found that suspiciously vague." James grinned and nodded.

"And it is purposely so, Ash," Giovanni said, demonstrating his skill at lip-reading. "The real Cause of Team Rocket is known only to the Inner Council and a few other very senior agents and support personnel. One of the reasons for this is that it is such an immense concept that we know that it would intimidate and scare off a lot of potential recruits."

Giovanni smiled around at the expressions on the four young people's faces. "I will explain it as best as I can. First you need to watch this tape." Giovanni pulled a DVD-R from his briefcase and put it in the player in the room's entertainment system. He picked up the remote and pressed 'play.'

The holographic wide-screen TV activated, images projected on a Xenon mist generated from the hollow plastic frame. An animated computer graphic appeared, one that James recognised as the logo of the long-defunct Cable News Network news agency. "_This is CNN!_" a portentous voice boomed. A dateline appeared at the bottom of the screen. 'July 2nd 2020.'

A white-haired man, identified by a pop-up caption as 'Harry Carter' appeared on the screen. The man looked flushed and was reading from some hastily prepared notes. "_We interrupt our scheduled broadcast to bring you breaking news from the Russian Federation!_" the man declared. "_President Alexander Putin of the Russian Federation has been assassinated in a bloody assault on his presidential motorcade in central Moscow. CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer is on the scene. Wolf._"

The screen changed to show a harassed-looking African-American man, pressing a radio transceiver earpiece to his head. A street in Moscow, filled with smouldering wreckage, dominated the background behind him. "_Thank you, Harry,_" he said. "_It was a sunny day in summertime Moscow and President Putin, the man who had kept an iron grip on Russian politics for two decades and the person widely held responsible for the death of Russia's second brief experiment in democracy, was returning to the Kremlin from his out-of-town Dacha…_"

"The original of this report in Team Rocket's archives is the only copy of this report left in the world," Giovanni interrupted. He was watching the three-decade old news broadcast as intently as the others were. "The UN put a lot of pressure on the news agencies to delete every copy of every report and every bit of original footage of this incident. Reporters were bribed and the event was expurgated from the history books. People these days know that Putin was assassinated, but not how."

"Why?" Misty asked.

"Because some things are too dangerous for any government, even nominal democracies, to ever let their people know. However, CNN was always so quick to get its' reports on the air, this broadcast went out before the security lock-down took effect. That's one of the reasons the station doesn't exist anymore."

"_Then, violence descended on this peaceful street like a bolt from the blue and a new era of international terrorism surely began,_" Blitzer was continuing. "_We will let the unedited footage, taken by a camera crew from the Russian Interfax news agency, tell the whole story._"

Then the picture changed to the same street. The cameras tracked to show a large convoy of heavily armoured vehicles escorting a trio of black limousines through the centre of the street. Suddenly, a shadow fell and a massive shape dropped out of the sky and landed in front of the leading motorbikes of the motorcade.

The Rhydon bellowed defiance, drove its' mighty hands into the street and ripped up a house-sized bit of black-top, holding it up like a kind of barricade. The vehicles squealed to a halt, except for the lead four motorbikes, which rode up the suddenly inclined road and flew into the air, sending the riders tumbling through the air.

The lead APC began to fire on the Rhydon with its' turret-mounted 20mm automatic cannon. The bullets, intended to kill trucks and lightly armoured helicopters, bounced off the rock-type's quartic crystal hide like soft rubber balls.

Then another shadow fell and a huge Dragonite, as graceful as any of the species the watchers had seen, dropped out of the sky and landed beside the Rhydon. The Dragonite had a single rider on its' back, probably its' Trainer. Several armed soldiers leapt from the first two APCs and ran forward, pointing their guns and shouting warnings in Russian. The Trainer reached behind him and pulled out a Pokéball. He activated it, releasing a Magneton. The small electric-type jumped over the barricade and unleashed a wide-angle Thunder-shock attack, sending the soldiers crashing to the ground, smouldering and twitching.

What happened next was almost too quick to take in easily. The three limousines began to reverse away as two more APCs charged along the right side of the convoy towards the Pokémon. The Trainer pointed and the Rhydon charged at the armoured vehicles. The massive rock-type lowered its head and speared the leading APC with a Drill Horn attack. Then it used Horn Toss to slam the APC end-over-end into the second vehicle. Both armoured vehicles exploded into a ball of flame, wreckage tumbling through the air.

Simultaneously, Dragonite used Ice Storm to frost the road. The limousines began to skid and swerve, unable to get any traction on the icy road surface. The Trainer released a Magmar and a Venusaur. The huge plant-type unleashed a Razor Leaf attack that took out the remaining motorcycle outriders and also shredded the limousines' and the surviving APCs tires. 

Another group of soldiers left one of the surviving APCs two carrying what looked like hand-held anti-tank missiles. The Trainer barely gestured and Magmar fired a Flame-thrower attack at them, turning them into blazing stick figures before they could bring their weapons to bear. Magmar then breathed out a Firestorm attack that consumed the two leading APCs. Although the flame couldn't penetrate the armour plate, it made the temperature inside skyrocket. The rear doors swung open and a few soldiers tumbled out, already dying of heat stroke.

"Venusaur, Vine Whip!" the Trainer called. The Venusaur reached out with its vine whips and _tore_ the limousines' doors off one by one. Russian Secret Service guards charged from the first and third limousine, but they fared no better against Magneton than the soldiers. Four air-launched wire-guided anti tank missiles shrieked towards the Dragonite, but the Dragon-type used a Bubble Beam defence. The missiles dropped loosely to the ground and exploded, one taking out one of the limousines in a massive fireball. A helicopter swung in, firing a gattling gun from a turret under its' nose. However, a single Solar Blast attack from Venusaur turned the helicopter gunship into slivers of burning metal, falling to the street like leaves.

"Come out, tyrant!" the Trainer shouted. There was a pause before he repeated the order in Russian. "Okay, you asked for it, Ghastly, use Terror!" The Trainer's released a Ghastly, who floated forward, washing a psychic attack, which looked like a heat haze, over the second limousine

Then a figure, a man in his sixties in a sober business suit, leapt from the car and began to run as three other men jumped out and began to fire sub-machineguns. They lasted less than half a second before Ghastly blew them across the street and through the plate glass of a shop front with a Psi Beam attack. Dragonite used Water Gun on the fleeing man, soaking him from head to toe. Then the Trainer shouted another command: "Magneton, Lightning Bolt!"

A triple whiplash of blue-white lightning struck the soaking man, who was stumbling and slipping on the ice-covered roads. The man screeched briefly in agony as the electrical attack consumed him. After a few seconds, Magneton ceased fire. A smouldering, charred body fell to the pool of water melted in the ice and lay still.

The Trainer turned to the camera, which had zoomed on his face. It wasn't even a man. The Trainer looked younger than Ash, barely out of childhood. He spoke in Russian, but someone at CNN's Atlanta headquarters provided a translation. "I have done this for the Russian people!" he shouted. "Too long have they had to tremble under the heel of one dictator or another; dictators aided and abetted by church, army, police and business to the point that no one dared resist them! No more! The tyrant is dead! Russia is _free!_"

The Trainer recalled Venusaur, Ghastly, Magmar, Rhydon and Magneton. Dragonite spread its' wings and launched itself into the air. The cameraman tracked the Dragon-type Pokémon as it vanished into the sky, the double boom of it breaking the sound barrier making the picture shake for a moment.

Giovanni paused the video. "The most paranoid dictator of the first years of the 21st Century," he said. "The most hated by his own people and the most heavily guarded. One hundred and forty soldiers, ten secret service agents, three limousines, capable of resisting a direct hit from one light anti-tank missile, four BRM-9 armoured personnel carriers and a Mi-24E gunship helicopter. All taken out by what looks like a sixteen-year old boy and six high-level Pokémon. One of the world's top three powers decapitated in a single move. If he wanted to, he could have gone on to wipe out the country's Politburo and all the rest of the apparatus of power in Moscow before anyone could have acted, but he had realised that Putin was the key. Without him as the centre, the whole thing collapsed. Russia fell apart and there is no one 'Russia' any more, but a series of republics that arose in the total power vacuum that existed without Putin's web of fear, patronage and thought control."

Giovanni's eyes were unfocussed as he continued to speak. "They tried to get him, my young friends. But flesh and blood doesn't show up well on radars, and the infrared emissions of a reptile like a Dragonite are just too low to detect easily. Oh, some pilots got lucky, if you can call it that. He and his Dragonite destroyed at least ten fighter aircraft on his way back to Kanto."

There was a long silence as Giovanni ejected the DVD, put it back in its' case and returned it to his briefcase. "My grandfather, Michael Ketchum, owned his own news organisation here in Kanto, Red-R News, when all this happened. He watched the original broadcast on CNN in the last minutes before it was suddenly taken off the air. He listened to the blatant threats to the news agencies coming from the American and Japanese governments as well as the U.N. However, he knew that what had happened was more than just the long-overdue execution of a vile criminal. He knew that what he saw… was the dawn of a _new world order_."

"What?" Jessie shook her head and looked at Giovanni in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Imagine a world, if you will, where no politician would ever dare lie to the electorate. Imagine a world where no police force could murder an innocent man and hope to survive the night. Imagine a world where no business that polluted and ravished the world while ignoring the wishes of the people could continue trading." Giovanni smiled. "Imagine a world where every man and woman were so empowered and so _powerful_… that government without the consent and continual agreement of the masses were an absolute impossibility. Where the mightiest and most loyal of armies could not protect a nation's leaders from the ordinary people should that leader fail them. My grandfather knew that this was the gift that the Pokémon offered us. If a majority of the people of the world had at least one Pokémon, then we would have a world where any form of tyranny and oppression were not only impossible, but utterly unthinkable. A world where power rested in the hands of those to whom it belonged: the people."

"You're talking about anarchy," Misty protested.

"No," Giovanni said. "I'm talking about democracy in its purest and most perfect form! A world where the _people_ decide, and where _they_ hold the power and those in positions of oversight must serve _them_ or face certain punishment."

"That's a… utopia, I think," James murmured.

"No," Ash whispered back. "A utopia is a world without any need to strive any more. This sounds more like a kind of Pokémon Marxism."

"But it seemed that the old order was intent on smothering this dawn when it had barely begun," Giovanni continued. "The U.N. declared a total quarantine of Kanto, Johto and Orange, allegedly to 'protect ecologically sensitive regions from the immense power of these creatures.' No Pokémon was allowed outside of this region. Any that were, mostly in zoos and private collections were seized and culled, often over their owner's dead bodies.

"Within six months of President Putin's assassination, the League came into existence, a glorious new opportunity for competition and brotherhood between Trainers." Giovanni laughed bitterly. "What an impossible joke! What the League did, indeed what it was intended for from the outset, was keep Trainers content with vulgar mass media celebrity and kept them divided and at each other's throats over match statistics and the relative quality of their Pokémon when they _should_ be united for their common interests! Meanwhile, the Pokémon Centres systematically poisoned and stunted Trained Pokémon in a desire to minimise the threat they posed to the _status quo_. 

"Grandfather saw through all the lies. He realised that, if Pokémon were ever to become the force for freedom he hoped, and if Trainers were ever to be free of the League and its' careful control of their every action, he would have to give them a different organisation to whom to turn to. He would have to give them an alternate path to let them recognise the potential of the power they were seeking. He sold his businesses and spent the rest of his life setting up an underground organisation to oppose the League and fight to set Trainers free of the bonds of the old order. He gave that organisation a name: Team Rocket."

"The U.N. is not run by fools by any means. They are the best and brightest from the global bureaucratic empire and they realised that something like this would happen. They founded The Project with the express goals of monitoring and controlling Pokémon development here on the ground in Kanto. The Project was under orders to identify and eliminate any threat to the strict control of Pokémon in this region. It's ultimate aim, as far as we know, is to _totally eliminate_ any Pokémon activity outside the League and the Breeding Ranches, probably including the total eradication of wild Pokémon and the use of the most effective behavioural conditioning to limit Trainers' ambitions to the League and its' competitions."

"Oh, in their own minds, they are doing the right thing," Giovanni concluded. "They tell themselves that they are trying to protect the world from chaos that they feel Pokémon would cause. But in truth, they are servant and protector to tyranny of every kind from lying politicians to fat, greedy and thoughtless tycoons. They are simply acting to preserve their own power from the possibility that true power may land in the hands of the grout they hate, fear and distrust more than anyone else, the ordinary man and woman."

"So… why are you telling us this?" Ash asked.

"Oh, it is quite simple," Giovanni said gently. "The time has almost come for their plans to bear fruit, though in what form I do not yet know. However, Team Rocket has an ace up our sleeves. We have a weapon that they cannot fight, one they have been to a great deal of trouble and risk to destroy. That is you, Ash."

"M… me?"

"Yes, you, your sister and your friends," Giovanni said. "You are, quite simply, the finest Trainers ever to walk the earth. Your brotherhood with your Pokémon is something unlike anything I have ever seen before. However, you especially Ash Ketchum, the Chosen One, are the lynchpin of the entire world's hopes for a future of freedom. It is your destiny to expose and destroy the plans of this barbaric and amoral conspiracy. It is your destiny to set Pokémon free."

__

To be continued…

****

Next time on Team Rocket Neo…

  * The final battle between the old world order and the forces that would forge a new world society begins… 
  * Sides are chosen… 
  * Allies are identified… 
  * Enemies are exposed…

All this and more in **Team Rocket Neo: Part 6 – Dark Victory**, coming soon to a library server near you!

   [1]: mailto:BenRG@rgflat.freeserve.co.uk



End file.
